Runaway!

This story from Middle East Online is worth a post simply to show the photograph of the British PM scurrying back onto BlairForceOne like he suddenly remembered he left the gas on.

Not only do observers believe the prime minister's stock is damaged at home due to the war in Iraq, they find the conflict and his close alignment with the United States have harmed his reputation in the Middle East. Add to that the lack of specific details about what was discussed to help improve the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the question could be -- and indeed at one point was -- asked: what was the point of the trip? Blair's office repeatedly stressed that the visit to Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories and the United Arab Emirates was for him to assess those countries' views on the Middle East situation.

Can someone buy the Blairs a telephone for Christmas please.

Tony: Hello, is that the Middle East?
Middle East: Yes, who's calling please.
Tony: Ha ha you're so funny. I was wondering how everything was.
Middle East: Well everything's pretty much the same. Fucked.

"Political sources in Jerusalem last night did not attribute any special significance to Blair's visit, and noted that the British leader travels abroad often because of domestic weakness,"

Now you mention it if you look at that photo closely he does seem to have a bit of weakness around the domestics. A telephone and a truss please Santa.

NYC is waiting...

Sinatra sang it best, New York New York so good they named it twice / New York New York buy your crap there half price.

In case you needed a reminder that the dollar is getting the living shit beat out of it by the mighty pound then just keep your eyes peeled on the tube:

NYC & Company, an official marketing body controlled by New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has taken out an aggressive advertising campaign in London pointing out that the British capital is one of the few cities in the world that makes the Big Apple look cheap... NYC & Co's head of tourism development, Fred Dixon, said: "Brits are probably the savviest travellers in the world - they're keenly aware of the value of their currency. They're very comfortable in New York - the language is the same, there are cultural ties and it's good value."

Now all the Brits need to do is get past the fog and terrorists and ignore that pesky rule about declaring any purchases whose value exceeds £145.

Old FBI memo: "It's a Wonderful Life" is commie propaganda

FBI documents from 1947 show that government officials once believed the Christmas movie classic "It's a Wonderful Life" was Communist propaganda. About the FBI memo titled "COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY," Blogger Will Chen writes,

I love It's a Wonderful Life because it teaches us that family, friendship, and virtue are the true definitions of wealth.

In 1947, however, the FBI considered this anti-consumerist message as subversive Communist propaganda (read original FBI memo).

According to Professor John Noakes of Franklin and Marshall College, the FBI thought Life smeared American values such as wealth and free enterprise while glorifying anti-American values such as the triumph of the common man.

Link. 1947 was the same year in which the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating suspected Communist influence in Hollywood. This led to the blacklisting of many directors, writers, and other talent. More background on that: Link.

Bathamatics

Has the London bath become threatened by climate change? It would seem so:

Moves to tackle climate change may spell the end of the bath. A London council is set to introduce planning rules encouraging builders to provide only a shower.

I would have thought a much more fun campaign to preserve water would be to advise Londoners always to take someone into the bath with them.

Will Londoners take this lying down? If this becomes the norm they won't have a choice but to stand up and be loofered.

Estate agents will probably swing this to their advantage as the extra space freed up due to the lack of a bathtub would provide plenty of room for a good sized London bedroom. But more importantly how will this news effect people who blog about bathmats such as Salvadore over on Smaller Than Life?

Will more bathmats be released into the wild for him to document or should we hang on to them for after the bathtime prohibition kicks in? Having one folded over your arm could gain you entry to one of the bathe-easy bars that are sure to spring up across the capital.

Blondes vs Tyres...or tires?

Approximately 85 years of life in just 40 sec

Can Spurs Play In Europe Every Week?

Whoever said this European football lark was difficult was talking a load of old cobblers. Five games into Tottenham’s 2006 European Tour and with five straight wins we’ve finally found the natural home for our style of play.

Unfortunately our natural home seems to be on the continent rather than the bread and butter of the Premiership but if we keep up the fantastic form we’ve displayed in Europe, both home and away, then there aren’t many of the sides who will join us in the last 32 that we should worry about.

The threat of Barcelona dropping down fron the Champion’s League still looms large although, as with any cup competition, if you have aspirations of lifting the trophy then eventually you’ll have to face the very top teams and, still surprisingly for me despite our 100% record, Spurs are right up there with holders Sevilla as one of the UEFA Cup favourites with the football bookies.

After another clean sheet and another Berbatov goal on his old stomping ground all I can say is bring on allcomers, we’ve been so engrossed for seasons in getting that elusive European place that we’ve forgotten what it’s really all about - getting out there and beating the cream of Europe and bringing home that old pot to White Hart Lane where it belongs and who’s to say that 2006/2007 isn’t shaping up to be as good as chance to do that as anyone could possibly have dreamed before a ball was kicked in Prague the other month?

Photo credit: EPL Talk on Flickr

Even More Adu About Nothing

The will he or won’t he sign for United debate is hotting up as teenager Freddy Adu has just four days left of his trial at Man U to convince Mr Ferguson that he can be a star for the Old Trafford faithful. He has been on a two week trial from D.C United to judge whether he makes the grade for playing at the top level of the Premiership.

So far it seems the teenage sensation has impressed the coaching staff but winning over Sir Alex may prove to be a more arduous task. Adu has been tracked by the Manchester Club since he was 14 years old and it seems that this is the time if they are to make a move to capture his signature. Chelsea have also shown an interest in the Ghanaian born midfielder and a move to Old Trafford could be seen as a coup d’etat for United over their title rivals.

Adu is hailed as a footballing superstar in the Major Soccer League but whether he can transfer his skills to the English game is another question. With the big names such as Sheva failing at Chelsea it begs the question whether players can adapt to the style of play of the Premiership. Adu has said “MLS has been great. I’ve enjoyed my time with D.C. United and I’ve really grown as a professional - but to see a huge change in my abilities I need to go to Europe with all the best players”. It seems Freddy wishes to make a move to Europe and if Man United turn the youngster down then other clubs could be happily waiting in the wings to snatch his signature.

Should Man United take a chance and put pen to paper or will Freddy end up as another “what should have been” contender together with the likes of Veron and Rebrov?

He’s Got No Hair and We Don’t Care: What The F*ck Was That?

Lee on the ball, right hand edge of the Arsenal area, he beats his man and cross to the near post. Lehman goes to collect, spills, Berbatov…… GGOOOAAALLLL!

That’s how it should have went instead, about an hour into the game and Spurs 2-0 down it went like this

Lee on the ball, right hand edge of the Arsenal area, he beats his man and cross to the near post. Lehman goes to collect, spills and comfortably collects because Berbatov cannot be bothered to even chase in the cross.

It was a feature of today’s humiliating defeat to Arsenal and I feel for any fans that paid their money and made the journey across to the Emirates Stadium to watch the game. There was talk before the game of naughty workers that had hidden Tottenham scarves in the cement when building the Stadium. If it is true, it was the only thing anyone from the white half of North London did to try and win this game.

I am going to be critical but what I saw on TV today was an embarrassment and for the first time in my life, I turned off the TV before the end of the game. I could not watch and I was getting too annoyed. I was literally screaming at the TV, it was as bad as I have seen Tottenham play for a long time. I have no problem with the team getting beat, it is part and parcel of the game, but the lack of effort the eleven that started game but in was unbelievable. The only person that can probably hold his head high was Pascal Chimbonda, I thought he had an OK game but even he was not at his usually best.

Yes, there will be some fans that blame the referee. That is fine, have a go at him, have a go at the assistant linesman but finding a scapegoat does not solve the problem. Below is how I saw it.

1st Goal
Onside or Offside? I am going with onside. I thought Chimbonda was playing him on. However, the blame does not lie with Pascal, it lies squarely on the shoulders of Michael Dawson. He was miles away from Adebayor, I was sitting at home in California and was closer. He jumped out, with Ledley it must be said, not knowing where his full backs were or where the striker was. If it had been flagged offside, it would still have been shocking defending. Also, Robinson should have closed him down a lot quicker. For someone that is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he is doing a very good impression of being the opposite.

2nd Goal
Penalty or not a penalty? Not a penalty in my mind and the ref got it wrong. However, again you have to look at the build up. Assou-Ekotto always looks so laid back to me, chewing his gum and wandering around the pitch. Ledley dropped the ball off to him and it should have been up the field, quick as you like. Instead he tried to turn and lost out. Yes, Poll did get the decision wrong and it cost a goal and perhaps 1-0 down at half time we have a chance but it was poor defending.

3rd Goal
I could not tell you. I turned off at about 65 minutes. Why? It was not good for the old heart! I was screaming at Lennon when I turned off the TV. He had just gone down the right wing and lost the ball. If it was me, I would be turning around and chasing the defender down, trying to win it back. This was, after all, a North London derby, wasn’t it? Lennon jumped up and down on the spot in frustration as Arsenal, under no pressure whatsoever, carried the ball clear. It was a joke and I was embarrassed to be watching.

The only positive thing in this game was the fact that Martin Jol looked how I felt. I still think he is the right man for the job and I hope in a couple of years time we will have a really competitive squad that can compete in the league and Europe on a regular basis. Jol is the man to lead us to that and I bet he put a rocket up the arse of each and every player in this game. You could see the look on this face. Yes, he would be disappointed with the ref’s decision but I bet you he was more disappointed with the players. Prem Plus should his reaction to the first goal. He was shaking his head well before the ball went into the back of the net and why? Because Berbatov had gave the ball away far too cheaply. It was typical of the Bulgarian front man. Brilliant one minute, absolutely awful the next.

I think the attitudes in the tunnel showed it was not going to be our day. While Henry chatted to his team mates and gave them a last minute good luck, you could see Dider Zokora walking over to the Arsenal players and shaking hands with them? I looked again, surely not, but yes, shaking hands with them. I know he is friends with Toure but wait till after the game for this kind of thing. It was a joke and something I hope Jol disciplines him about. Ledley did this thing where he turned to the players behind him, clapped his hands and (presumably) said “Come On”. How many players joined him in an “I am up for it” clap? Zero. If you have not got the right attitude before you go on the pitch, you will not have it when you get on.

All in all it was a shocking day at the office. It was joke, an embarrassment and the team were a waste of space. This was billed as the North London derby. One of the best in the world. If only the Tottenham players knew this. I was so disappointed in their effort and I think each and every one of them should give their daily wage to charity because they did not deserve it.

Facts about Sleep

Since we all understand that sleep can basically make or break you, I've pulled a couple of facts from a study by the National Sleep Research Project:

• A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year


• REM sleep occurs in bursts totaling about 2 hours a night, usually beginning about 90 minutes after falling asleep. Here is a wikipedia definiation of REM.


• Dreams, once thought to occur only during REM sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It's possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless.


• Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.


• The "natural alarm clock" which enables some people to wake up more or less when they want to is caused by a burst of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. Researchers say this reflects an unconscious anticipation of the stress of waking up.


• After five nights of partial sleep deprivation, three drinks will have the same effect on your body as six would when you've slept enough.


• Ten per cent of snorers have sleep apnoea, a disorder which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times a night and significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.


• Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal


• Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.