This week's entry for the Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats.
17 July 2009
16 July 2009
Meeting my childhood hero
40 years ago I was just six years old but I was utterly enthralled by the Apollo missions. I remember being utterly disappointed in May 1969 when the Apollo 10 Lunar Module descended to within a few miles of the moon's earth surface. I could not understand why they did not go the whole hog and land the thing. Less than two months later just about the only thing on my mind was the prospect of Apollo 11 being the one where someone actually walked on the Moon's surface.
Although I did not see the landing live on TV I was utterly thrilled that Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin finally did it! Apollos 12 through 17 were also thrilling but throughout my childhood it was Neil Armstrong who was my absolute hero. Other notables like George Best were all well and good but they just could not measure up to Neil.
HERO!
Buzz Aldrin came a moderately (but not too) distant second. As for Michael Collins I felt sorry that the poor guy remained stuck in orbit!
20 years later, I was working as an Immigration official at Heathrow Airport. Summer was as busy as hell but it was normal for the major ports to send "relief" streams to smaller ports to help them deal with a massive increase in traffic. That year I landed one of the plums, four weeks at Prestwick Airport,near Ayr, in Scotland. The work was easy and I got the chance to do a fair bit of sightseeing.. as well as plenty of drinking with the other relief staff!
One weekday morning just after we had cleared the American and Canadian charter flights (Scottish expatriates coming back to visit friends and family, Canadian and US tourists wishing to see the sights of Scotland or take in a spot of golf). Most of my colleagues had gone off on a late breakfast break so I was holding the fort when a private jet landed. It turned out to be a party of Americans and Britons coming to play golf.
One of the party was Neil Armstrong himself. While it was never the done thing to faun over celebrities, All I could say was WOW! NEIL ARMSTRONG! If I had heard of Wayne's World at the time I might have gotten down on the floor and done the "I'm not worthy" thing.
Not much of a story, I know but he was my childhood hero and for a short moment I was a six year old once again...Such is life
Although I did not see the landing live on TV I was utterly thrilled that Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin finally did it! Apollos 12 through 17 were also thrilling but throughout my childhood it was Neil Armstrong who was my absolute hero. Other notables like George Best were all well and good but they just could not measure up to Neil.
HERO!Buzz Aldrin came a moderately (but not too) distant second. As for Michael Collins I felt sorry that the poor guy remained stuck in orbit!
20 years later, I was working as an Immigration official at Heathrow Airport. Summer was as busy as hell but it was normal for the major ports to send "relief" streams to smaller ports to help them deal with a massive increase in traffic. That year I landed one of the plums, four weeks at Prestwick Airport,near Ayr, in Scotland. The work was easy and I got the chance to do a fair bit of sightseeing.. as well as plenty of drinking with the other relief staff!
One weekday morning just after we had cleared the American and Canadian charter flights (Scottish expatriates coming back to visit friends and family, Canadian and US tourists wishing to see the sights of Scotland or take in a spot of golf). Most of my colleagues had gone off on a late breakfast break so I was holding the fort when a private jet landed. It turned out to be a party of Americans and Britons coming to play golf.
One of the party was Neil Armstrong himself. While it was never the done thing to faun over celebrities, All I could say was WOW! NEIL ARMSTRONG! If I had heard of Wayne's World at the time I might have gotten down on the floor and done the "I'm not worthy" thing.
Not much of a story, I know but he was my childhood hero and for a short moment I was a six year old once again...Such is life
15 July 2009
Iran protestors flex their muscles through boycotts
There are fewer people demonstrating on the streets of Tehran but despite what the likes of idiots like Galloway predicted, the protests haven’t quite fizzled out. According to yesterday’s Guardian It seems that the protestors are using their economic muscle and boycotting companies deemed to be sympathetic to the Iranian regime.
Wholesale vendors in the capital report that demand for Nokia handsets has fallen by as much as half in the wake of calls to boycott Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for selling communications monitoring systems to Iran.
In addition it seems that consumers are shunning SMS messaging in protest at the perceived complicity with the regime by the state telecoms company, while TCI. Iran's state-run broadcaster has been hit by a collapse in advertising as companies fear being blacklisted. There is also anecdotal evidence that people are moving money out of state banks and into private banks.
Nokia is the most prominent western company to suffer from its dealings with the Iranian authorities. Its NSN joint venture with Siemens provided Iran with a monitoring system as it expanded a mobile network last year. Siemens is also accused of providing Iran with an internet filtering system called Webwasher.
Some Tehran shops have removed Nokia phones from their window displays. Hashem, a mobile phone vendor, said: "I don't like to lose my customers and now people don't feel happy seeing Nokia's products. We even had customers who wanted to refund their new Nokia cell phones or change them with just another cell phone from any other companies. It’s not just a limited case to my shop – I'm also a wholesaler to small shops in provincial markets, and I can say that there is half the demand for Nokia's product these days in comparison with just one month ago, and it's really unprecedented. People feel ashamed of having Nokia cell phones," he added.
The Iranian authorities are believed to have used Nokia's mobile phone monitoring system to target dissidents. One Iranian journalist who has just been released from detention said:
"I always had this impression that monitoring calls is just a rumour for threatening us from continuing our job properly, but the nightmare became real when they had my phone calls – conversations in my case. And the most unbelievable thing for me is that Nokia sold this system to our government. It would be a reasonable excuse for Nokia if they had sold the monitoring technology to a democratic country for controlling child abuse or other uses, but selling it to the Iranian government with a very clear background of human rights violence and suppression of dissent, it's just inexcusable for me. I'd like to tell Nokia that I'm tortured because they had sold this damn technology to our government."
State-run TV has also been targeted by protesters who have listed products advertised on its channels and urged supporters to join a boycott. Companies are running scared, and viewers have noticed the number of commercials plummet.
"We don't have many choices to show and continue our protests. "They don't let us go out, they have killed many, we are threatened to text people or distribute emails, they have summoned people who shout Allahu Akbar ['God is great'] on rooftops at nights, so we need to look for new ways," said Shahla, a 26-year-old Iranian student. "I can obviously see on the TV that they are facing an advertising crisis. This at least shows them how angry people are," she added.
The SMS boycott, meanwhile, has apparently forced TCI into drastic price hikes. The cost of an SMS has doubled in recent days. Protesters view the move as a victory.
The intercept and monitoring technology provided by Nokia is pretty much a worldwide standard. Our mobile systems in the UK have exactly the same facilities which are used by our authorities too. Still the combined economic muscle of the Iranian people may well make companies think twice about getting into bed with the Iranian regime.
Wholesale vendors in the capital report that demand for Nokia handsets has fallen by as much as half in the wake of calls to boycott Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for selling communications monitoring systems to Iran.
In addition it seems that consumers are shunning SMS messaging in protest at the perceived complicity with the regime by the state telecoms company, while TCI. Iran's state-run broadcaster has been hit by a collapse in advertising as companies fear being blacklisted. There is also anecdotal evidence that people are moving money out of state banks and into private banks.
Nokia is the most prominent western company to suffer from its dealings with the Iranian authorities. Its NSN joint venture with Siemens provided Iran with a monitoring system as it expanded a mobile network last year. Siemens is also accused of providing Iran with an internet filtering system called Webwasher.
Some Tehran shops have removed Nokia phones from their window displays. Hashem, a mobile phone vendor, said: "I don't like to lose my customers and now people don't feel happy seeing Nokia's products. We even had customers who wanted to refund their new Nokia cell phones or change them with just another cell phone from any other companies. It’s not just a limited case to my shop – I'm also a wholesaler to small shops in provincial markets, and I can say that there is half the demand for Nokia's product these days in comparison with just one month ago, and it's really unprecedented. People feel ashamed of having Nokia cell phones," he added.
The Iranian authorities are believed to have used Nokia's mobile phone monitoring system to target dissidents. One Iranian journalist who has just been released from detention said:
"I always had this impression that monitoring calls is just a rumour for threatening us from continuing our job properly, but the nightmare became real when they had my phone calls – conversations in my case. And the most unbelievable thing for me is that Nokia sold this system to our government. It would be a reasonable excuse for Nokia if they had sold the monitoring technology to a democratic country for controlling child abuse or other uses, but selling it to the Iranian government with a very clear background of human rights violence and suppression of dissent, it's just inexcusable for me. I'd like to tell Nokia that I'm tortured because they had sold this damn technology to our government."
State-run TV has also been targeted by protesters who have listed products advertised on its channels and urged supporters to join a boycott. Companies are running scared, and viewers have noticed the number of commercials plummet.
"We don't have many choices to show and continue our protests. "They don't let us go out, they have killed many, we are threatened to text people or distribute emails, they have summoned people who shout Allahu Akbar ['God is great'] on rooftops at nights, so we need to look for new ways," said Shahla, a 26-year-old Iranian student. "I can obviously see on the TV that they are facing an advertising crisis. This at least shows them how angry people are," she added.
The SMS boycott, meanwhile, has apparently forced TCI into drastic price hikes. The cost of an SMS has doubled in recent days. Protesters view the move as a victory.
The intercept and monitoring technology provided by Nokia is pretty much a worldwide standard. Our mobile systems in the UK have exactly the same facilities which are used by our authorities too. Still the combined economic muscle of the Iranian people may well make companies think twice about getting into bed with the Iranian regime.
Evil Zionist chewing gum conspiracy uncovered
Hamas has unveiled a dark Zionist conspiracy that will rock the state of Israel to the core. It has tangible proof that Israeli intelligence services are supplying the Gaza Strip with chewing gum that boosts the sex drive in order to "corrupt the young,"
"We have discovered two types of stimulants that were introduced into the Gaza Strip from Israeli border crossings," Hamas police spokesman Islam Shahwan told AFP. "The first type is presented in the form of chewing gum and the second in the form of drops," he said.
Mr Shahwan said that it had detained members of a gang that helped to bring in the products."They admitted during the investigation they were linked to the Zionist intelligence services," he said.
One suspect said he had received the products from an Israeli intelligence officer at a cut-rate price "with the officer saying they did not want money, but to distribute the products among the young people of Gaza. The intelligence services are aiming to corrupt the young generation by distributing these products among students."
The story came to light after a Palestinian man filed a complaint that his daughter had experienced "dubious side effects" after chewing the offending gum... (presumably a cessation of periods and a swelling of the abdomen?)
The Israeli military in an official statement admitted that it had indeed been supplying the gum. “It had been our plan to subvert the youth of Gaza by having them spend their time in constant copulation. That way they would be too tired to bother us. Sadly Hamas has caught us red handed. We apologise humbly and will cease distribution forthwith.”
Off the record another IDF source said “At least they didn’t discover the porno ray”
"We have discovered two types of stimulants that were introduced into the Gaza Strip from Israeli border crossings," Hamas police spokesman Islam Shahwan told AFP. "The first type is presented in the form of chewing gum and the second in the form of drops," he said.
Mr Shahwan said that it had detained members of a gang that helped to bring in the products."They admitted during the investigation they were linked to the Zionist intelligence services," he said.
One suspect said he had received the products from an Israeli intelligence officer at a cut-rate price "with the officer saying they did not want money, but to distribute the products among the young people of Gaza. The intelligence services are aiming to corrupt the young generation by distributing these products among students."
The story came to light after a Palestinian man filed a complaint that his daughter had experienced "dubious side effects" after chewing the offending gum... (presumably a cessation of periods and a swelling of the abdomen?)
The Israeli military in an official statement admitted that it had indeed been supplying the gum. “It had been our plan to subvert the youth of Gaza by having them spend their time in constant copulation. That way they would be too tired to bother us. Sadly Hamas has caught us red handed. We apologise humbly and will cease distribution forthwith.”
Off the record another IDF source said “At least they didn’t discover the porno ray”
14 July 2009
How cats control us
I knew I had to post this when I saw it. According to large swathes of the press , scientists have discovered the means by which cats control us.
Cats have learned that loud miaowing is not an effective strategy for waking us up for an early breakfast at 5am. Any cat trying that will probably find themselves extramuralised velocitatiously be it via the door or via the window.
Some cats (Robyn, Bebe and Ted included) disguise their cries for attention within an otherwise pleasant purr. The result, according to a study in the journal Current Biology, is a complex "solicitation" purr with a high-frequency element that triggers a sense of urgency in the human brain. Owners find it irritating, but not irritating enough to kick the cat out, and feel driven to respond. Which means that it pierces through the highest tog rated duvet and several pillows. It bores into your brain faster than that irritating advert jingle that kept playing in your brain until 4am
Dr Karen McComb, a specialist in mammal vocal communication at the University of Sussex, said that by employing an embedded cry, cats appear to be exploiting innate tendencies that humans have for nurturing offspring."The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response – and solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing," she said.
McComb began the research into domestic cats after noticing the "manipulative" purring of her own cat, Pepo. "I wondered why this purring sounded so annoying and was so difficult to ignore," she said. "Talking with other cat owners, I found that some of them also had cats which showed similar behaviour."
After testing human responses to different purring types, McComb and her team found that even those with no experience of cats judged the "solicitation" purr to be more urgent and less pleasant. On examining the frequency of the special purr, she found a peak similar to that of a baby's cry, which gave it a "noisy, slightly whiny quality".
Asked whether the cat's special purr is more effective than other demands for food, she said: "I think it might be more effective than a dog. If you ask people who own cats what they do when they get up they say they feed their cats. Even before they have a cup of coffee. Cats are very good at getting their own way."
That is so true!
The problem for Dr McComb is now she has revealed the cat’s secret solicitation I fear that she will receive a visit from the Feline mafia. The editor of Current Biology will almost certainly wake up and find a mouse head in their bed
Cats have learned that loud miaowing is not an effective strategy for waking us up for an early breakfast at 5am. Any cat trying that will probably find themselves extramuralised velocitatiously be it via the door or via the window.
Some cats (Robyn, Bebe and Ted included) disguise their cries for attention within an otherwise pleasant purr. The result, according to a study in the journal Current Biology, is a complex "solicitation" purr with a high-frequency element that triggers a sense of urgency in the human brain. Owners find it irritating, but not irritating enough to kick the cat out, and feel driven to respond. Which means that it pierces through the highest tog rated duvet and several pillows. It bores into your brain faster than that irritating advert jingle that kept playing in your brain until 4am
Dr Karen McComb, a specialist in mammal vocal communication at the University of Sussex, said that by employing an embedded cry, cats appear to be exploiting innate tendencies that humans have for nurturing offspring."The embedding of a cry within a call that we normally associate with contentment is quite a subtle means of eliciting a response – and solicitation purring is probably more acceptable to humans than overt meowing," she said.
McComb began the research into domestic cats after noticing the "manipulative" purring of her own cat, Pepo. "I wondered why this purring sounded so annoying and was so difficult to ignore," she said. "Talking with other cat owners, I found that some of them also had cats which showed similar behaviour."
After testing human responses to different purring types, McComb and her team found that even those with no experience of cats judged the "solicitation" purr to be more urgent and less pleasant. On examining the frequency of the special purr, she found a peak similar to that of a baby's cry, which gave it a "noisy, slightly whiny quality".
Asked whether the cat's special purr is more effective than other demands for food, she said: "I think it might be more effective than a dog. If you ask people who own cats what they do when they get up they say they feed their cats. Even before they have a cup of coffee. Cats are very good at getting their own way."
That is so true!
The problem for Dr McComb is now she has revealed the cat’s secret solicitation I fear that she will receive a visit from the Feline mafia. The editor of Current Biology will almost certainly wake up and find a mouse head in their bed
WW [- Echinops ritro
This week's entry for the Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Wordless Wednesday.
13 July 2009
People of the DPRK commemorate passing of Great Leader, Dear Leader in rude health despite what western lackeys say
Last Wednesday the workers, soldiers and peasants of the indefatigable Democratic People’s Republic of Korea paid tribute to the peerless triumphs of the Great leader Kim il Sung on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of his passing from Great Leader to Eternal Leader.
The Great and then Eternal Leader happy after a successful day of purging imperialist running dogs
According to KCNA:
Senior officials of the party and state, leading officials of the party and power organs, working people's organizations, ministries and national institutions visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of demise of President Kim Il Sung. Blah, blah’ blah A floral basket in the joint name of Blah, blah, blah
Kimilsungia, a feature of many of the flower baskets
Servicepersons of the Korean People's Army, people from all walks of life and school youth and children blah, blah, blah floral baskets blah, blah, blah .
An endless stream of people visited the statue of the President on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang in boundless reverence and yearning for him, blah, blah blah, floral basket sent by Kim Jong Il, blah, blah, blah.
Kimjongillia, also a featured plant in many of the flower baskets
Blah.. Blah, blah, blah floral baskets in the name of blah, blah, blah. Also placed were floral baskets in the name blah, blah, blah. Overseas Koreans and foreigners. Servicepersons, working people and school youth and children from across the country visited the statues of the President in their residential areas. They laid floral baskets (and WOW), bouquets and flowers before the statues, blah, blah, blah.
Meanwhile President Kim Il Sung was lauded in the highest terms by Shawn Pikford, delegate of the British organization for the study of the Juche idea, which claims a membership of over 77 million students in England alone.
“The validity and vitality of the Juche idea blah, blah, blah,” he said. The great Juche idea blah, blah, blah independent life blah, blah, blah world progressives. Blah, blah, blah will shine more brightly blah, blah, blah Juche idea, blah, blah, blah. The President is always alive blah, blah, blah hearts of the Korean people blah, blah, blah immortal exploits blah, blah blahh, revolutionary cause, blah, blah; blah Kim Jong Il.”
But surprisingly not a single mention of floral baskets
As can be seen a lot of flowers sacrificed their lives to pay proper tribute to the colossus of the Songun ideal and enough hot air was generated to heat all of Pyongyang’s schools and hospitals for several months (pity the ceremony did not take place when it was cold...)
But what of General Secretary, the dear leader Kim Jong Il?
As painted just before his run up Mt Baedku
According to KCNA he visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace at 0:00 on Wednesday accompanied by Vice Marshal of the KPA Kim Yong Chun, minister of the People's Armed Forces, General of the KPA Ri Yong Ho, chief of the General Staff of the KPA, General of the KPA Kim Jong Gak, first vice-director of the General Political Department of the KPA, Vice Marshal of the KPA Kim Il Chol, first vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces, staff members of the Supreme Command of the KPA and other general officers of the KPA.
He together with the above-said commanding officers of the NDC and the KPA paid homage to President Kim Il Sung.
Of course it goes without saying that he was in the peak of health and indeed only the day before ran to the top of Mount Baedku on Tuesday although it must be stressed that it did leave hi a little tired the following day as can be seen in the following picture:
Dear Leader a little tired after running up Mt Baedku
The lackey press of the Capitalist lapdogs have had the temerity to claim that the Dear Leader may have Pancreatic Cancer.
The fascist South Korean government mouthpiece YTN television channel reported that Kim had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, citing unidentified intelligence officials.
It is in fact clear that the Dear Leader is still in charge and taking forward the peeless ideals of Juche, tirelessly working for the benefit of the freedom loving Korean people. The Dear leader has since rested and undertaken an intensive course of rejuvenation the effects of which can clearly be seen in the latest official photograph issued yesterday.
The Dear Leader (left) rejuvenated and ready to rule the DPRK for another 60 years
Long live Juche!
The Great and then Eternal Leader happy after a successful day of purging imperialist running dogsAccording to KCNA:
Senior officials of the party and state, leading officials of the party and power organs, working people's organizations, ministries and national institutions visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of demise of President Kim Il Sung. Blah, blah’ blah A floral basket in the joint name of Blah, blah, blah
Kimilsungia, a feature of many of the flower basketsServicepersons of the Korean People's Army, people from all walks of life and school youth and children blah, blah, blah floral baskets blah, blah, blah .
An endless stream of people visited the statue of the President on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang in boundless reverence and yearning for him, blah, blah blah, floral basket sent by Kim Jong Il, blah, blah, blah.
Kimjongillia, also a featured plant in many of the flower basketsBlah.. Blah, blah, blah floral baskets in the name of blah, blah, blah. Also placed were floral baskets in the name blah, blah, blah. Overseas Koreans and foreigners. Servicepersons, working people and school youth and children from across the country visited the statues of the President in their residential areas. They laid floral baskets (and WOW), bouquets and flowers before the statues, blah, blah, blah.
Meanwhile President Kim Il Sung was lauded in the highest terms by Shawn Pikford, delegate of the British organization for the study of the Juche idea, which claims a membership of over 77 million students in England alone.
“The validity and vitality of the Juche idea blah, blah, blah,” he said. The great Juche idea blah, blah, blah independent life blah, blah, blah world progressives. Blah, blah, blah will shine more brightly blah, blah, blah Juche idea, blah, blah, blah. The President is always alive blah, blah, blah hearts of the Korean people blah, blah, blah immortal exploits blah, blah blahh, revolutionary cause, blah, blah; blah Kim Jong Il.”
But surprisingly not a single mention of floral baskets
As can be seen a lot of flowers sacrificed their lives to pay proper tribute to the colossus of the Songun ideal and enough hot air was generated to heat all of Pyongyang’s schools and hospitals for several months (pity the ceremony did not take place when it was cold...)
But what of General Secretary, the dear leader Kim Jong Il?
As painted just before his run up Mt BaedkuAccording to KCNA he visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace at 0:00 on Wednesday accompanied by Vice Marshal of the KPA Kim Yong Chun, minister of the People's Armed Forces, General of the KPA Ri Yong Ho, chief of the General Staff of the KPA, General of the KPA Kim Jong Gak, first vice-director of the General Political Department of the KPA, Vice Marshal of the KPA Kim Il Chol, first vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces, staff members of the Supreme Command of the KPA and other general officers of the KPA.
He together with the above-said commanding officers of the NDC and the KPA paid homage to President Kim Il Sung.
Of course it goes without saying that he was in the peak of health and indeed only the day before ran to the top of Mount Baedku on Tuesday although it must be stressed that it did leave hi a little tired the following day as can be seen in the following picture:
Dear Leader a little tired after running up Mt BaedkuThe lackey press of the Capitalist lapdogs have had the temerity to claim that the Dear Leader may have Pancreatic Cancer.
The fascist South Korean government mouthpiece YTN television channel reported that Kim had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, citing unidentified intelligence officials.
It is in fact clear that the Dear Leader is still in charge and taking forward the peeless ideals of Juche, tirelessly working for the benefit of the freedom loving Korean people. The Dear leader has since rested and undertaken an intensive course of rejuvenation the effects of which can clearly be seen in the latest official photograph issued yesterday.
The Dear Leader (left) rejuvenated and ready to rule the DPRK for another 60 yearsLong live Juche!
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