Strangely Perfect

Block ACTA and Stop ACTA! Truly, our freedoms are at stake.  While notionally an idea to prevent copyright theft, it’s real purpose opens the floodgates for any undemocratic organisation to walk over our freedoms (such as they are) for which our forefathers slugged their guts out.  Read this, then either; walk away (wondering in a [...]

In the news today, although you’d hardly think so because of the Israeli / Palestinian conflict, is the story that the Ukraine can’t pay their gas bills.  I apologise for it being a bit buried amongst the profits’ statements etc, but hey!, I didn’t write it. BBC – Gazprom sees profits jump by 85% GazProm [...]

Today’s news at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) meeting in Moscow, is the final card played in a long game of bluff and revenge started several decades ago by Vladamir Putin. I’ve been banging on about this for over a year now in these pages. But hey!  It’s only me! So whatever the current [...]

Following on from the two bombers landing in Venezuela only 11 days ago (which I reported here when talking about the decreasing effectualness of Bush and USA power in the world), they will shortly be joined by a mean and capable looking ship called Peter the Great as well as a few others. They are [...]

The “news”, Phone taps ‘prove Georgia’s case’ that Georgia’s President Saakashvili has discovered phone tap evidence that “proves” he was trapped or lured into his Invasion of South Ossetia by the Russians would be more credible if it had come out at the beginning of August.  But really, I mean; even I, with no Eastern [...]

In this piece, Fusion power seeks super steels, and trying to use some of the news spill from the LHC, Jennifer Carpenter says; Scientists say an understanding of how the Twin Towers collapsed will help them develop the materials needed to build fusion reactors. Er, No.  It’ll teach them to stay on the right side [...]

As a follow up to my earlier post us-nationalises-banks-while-russia-devalues-the-rouble-total-irony pointing out the sharp reversal in political and economic fortunes of the (former) two world superpowers, I remembered something from last month. An American friend decided to post a present for my family here in the UK.  I (and then we) ended up having to pay [...]

Two apparently contradictory stories from two opposing viewpoints tell the same story in a way. Georgian president vows to reclaim 2 provinces – (Associated Press) Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said yesterday that he’d “regain control of the two breakaway provinces with the help of the rest of the world.” He said the West would “help [...]

In a further escalation in the war of nerves about sanctions by Europe, the BBC say, Russia stands by Georgia actions, whereas in actual fact, the whole point of the article is as quoted by Medvedev, the Russian premier; On the eve of a special EU summit on Georgia, he warned that Russia was ready [...]

Thank god I’ve got a fixed price for my gas this year! :-? UK warns over ‘Russia aggression’ It’s hardly worth any more comment given my previous postings on the fragility of our energy supplies viv-a-vis the ongoing Georgia crisis and other postings. So I won’t, except as a timed monitor of world events about [...]

It’s important that in these times of tit-for-tat diplomacy which have replaced common sense and dialogue, that the correct order of statements and actions is recorded. Otherwise, in a short time, a different history will be seen as people’s views and memories get clouded in the mists of time.  Eventually, a whole new history appears [...]

V2 Schneider – Bowie I don’t know why Bowie titled it so; maybe it’s a tribute to the Kraftwerk dude.  Whatever, it’s one of my all-time favourite intros and even though it’s lost some power compared to the “modern” sounds available now, it’s still a cracker and it could easily be re-done.  The sax at [...]

US anger at Russian Georgia vote The only thing going on here is that the Bush administration are still being outplayed, double footed and body swerved out of the game.  See my earlier post on the USS McFaul. The lack of coherence in policy and the willingness for confrontation as an alternative to dialog as [...]

BBC News, this morning: Russian MPs back Georgia’s rebels (paraphrasing Mandy Rice-Davies) – well they would, wouldn’t they! Putin, the hand rocking the Russian cradle, must be happy, but not surprised…  It was he who set the current format of the Upper House, the Federation Council in 2004 when, following the Beslan School Hostage Crisis [...]