Beckham Bends

David Beckham, football superstar, has a sprained right knee and looks all set to miss the rest of the season of L.A.Galaxy who will be then looking at another extended spell without him.Beckham, whose five-year contract guarantees him an annual salary of $6.5million came here with an already injured left ankle.He must be hoping to make soccer a major American sport but that dream may just elude him due to his repeated injuries and lacklustre performance.

Meanwhile,Beckham and his wife,Victoria 'Posh Spice'can glide around town Hollywood together,ripping up the entertainment world. She will be appearing on TV this fall, playing herself on an episode of the ABC comedy 'Ugly Betty'.

Men's room signals!

The Republicans are getting the carpet pulled out from under their feet,literally. The latest offender to hit their scandal sheet is Idaho Senator Larry Craig who solicited sex from *gasp* an undercover cop (who was ironically investigating public restroom gay sexual activities) in an airport bathroom stall with shoe-touches and hand signals!
Youtube promptly has a video of Craig's guide to men's room signals! Tsk!Tsk!

CNN interviews Hamas Leader

Hamas is now ruling in Gaza strip after a showdown with Fatah,the Palestinian political party which runs the West Bank. Hamas' leader, Khaled Meshaal lives in hiding in Damascus, Syria. CNN correspondents interviewed him in his secret hideout .

Meshaal is a complicated, calculating man. To his people, he is seen as a humanitarian and as the leader of Hamas. To Israel, the United States and a list of other nations, he is seen as a terrorist.

Next month will mark the 10-year anniversary of an assassination attempt on Meshaal's life by the Israeli intelligence organization Mossad.

While Meshaal was living in Jordan in 1997, Mossad agents breached the building in which he was sleeping. They injected poison into his ear. The Jordanian authorities quickly discovered what had happened and through pressure from both the Jordanian king and some U.S. officials, Israel eventually provided Meshaal with the antidote he needed to survive.

"I am 51 years old, and the past 10 years have been a gift from above," he told CNN.

Is the next 'war on terror' drawing near?

Is the Bush/Cheney administration gearing up for a strike on Iran?
The administration has, just this month,targeted Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard,a sovereign nation's standing army numbering in hundreds of thousands, on the terrorism list. When you want a war that badly, you'll pretty much do or say anything to get it. Adding to their warcries is the mainstream media here which seems to be cheering them more into this pre-emptive strike. To make matters worse, Iran is aggressively posturing itself and making pugnacious noises.

The delusional neoconservative thinking that still guides White House policy concludes that an attack on Iran would lead to the fall of the clerics and the rise of a more friendly Iran. To maintain a precarious balance of position in the Middle East,Bush is all set to sell $20 billion in high-tech military equipment to Saudi Arabia and has sanctioned $3 billion in aid to Israel.

The Reps are conveniently brushing aside the findings of The National Intelligence Estimate which has, in its study, concluded that though Iran is building nuclear power stations (it has the legal right to do so under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,which is endorsed by both the United States and Iran),it could not acquire a nuclear weapon until early to mid-next decade. But the war cheerleaders and the powers that be are not ready to give credence to the report. Bush has now stated that Iran’s pursuit of the atomic bomb could lead to a nuclear holocaust in the Middle East, and promised to confront Tehran “before it is too late”.This is a repeat of the same lies about weapons of mass destruction that he used to justify invading Iraq.

According to a study made by the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy and published by the Rawstory the US has made military preparations to destroy Iran’s WMD, nuclear energy, regime, armed forces, state apparatus and economic infrastructure within days if not hours of President George Bush giving the order

Rationality and common sense have not exactly been the strong points of this administration which is yet to come out of its earlier reckless adventure in Iraq. Another massive war exercise in Iran will push America and the world into a horrific slideback in every way.Scary.

Foam on the Pacific Coast

Strange natural events keep happening with more frightening regularity these days. The latest freak display is the foaming up of the Pacific ocean along the shoreline north of Sydney which was transformed into what reporters are calling ‘The Cappuccino Coast’which stretched for 30 miles. This phenomenon has not been seen at the beach for more than three decades.

According to the Daily Mail:
The foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed.

All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles.

These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore.

As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.

World's first automated restaurant

In Nuremberg, Germany, the world's first automated restaurant has opened earlier this month. There are no waiters attending to the tables in Bistro's Baggers. Customers order their meals using a touch-screen system that is placed at each table, and the entire restaurant is networked via a computer system. Each table has been connected by metal rails to the kitchen and dishes glide along the rails to customers, propelled by gravity.


Automation may have its advantages and benefits of economies of cost. That said, one may miss the human element in such clinical restaurant dining.

Priceless Egyptian Whale Fossil destroyed

A fossilised whale lying for millions of years in the Egyptian desert has been destroyed by negligent diplomats of an unknown European country driving SUVs.The damage is estimated at more than 10 million dollars!

Insensitive vandals.

Two cars drove into the protected area on Friday and then refused to stop when asked to do so by wardens who nevertheless got the vehicles' registration numbers which the source said were from "a European country."

The site, known as Wadi Hitan (Whale Valley), was home to whales around 40 million years ago when the area was ocean. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to hundreds of whale fossils.

According to UNESCO, Wadi Al-Hitan is the most important site in the world to demonstrate one of the iconic changes that make up the record of life on Earth: the evolution of the whales. It portrays vividly their form and mode of life during their transition from land animals to a marine existence.

Toyota Prius, the Green Machine

Toyota Prius has been adjudged as the "Green Machine" of the year by the judges at evecars.com. The female judges also picked the Volkswagen Eos as the 2007 Car of The Year in what evecars says is the "first ever women's car awards judged by women for women." Via
Apple co-founder Steve "the Woz" Wozniak got a $700 ticket for going 105 MPH in a Prius back on March 28th. This breaks the myth that hybrids are not speed-worthy :))

Human Rights violations in Iran

Lashings and executions seem to be commonplace in Iran which is grossly violating human rights in the name of enforcement of strict morality laws laid down by the Koran. According to Human Rights organisation,respect for basic human rights in Iran, especially freedom of expression and assembly, deteriorated in 2006 and it holds the deplorable distinction of leading the world in juvenile executions.



But there is hope as yet. It is learnt that resistance amongst the people of Iran against the hard line religious regime is gaining momentum.
Via: Dailymail

Doubting ThomasTheresa

Mother Teresa is being fast tracked on her way to sainthood and anything said against her is almost unthinkable.Therefore,it is shocking to hear that she had serious doubts about her faith to the point where she stopped praying and feared being labelled as a hypocrite.According to CBS News a collection of her letters written to superiors, friends and confessors have been compiled and are to be released in the form of a book. These reveal a side of her that will shock the world about the Nobel Peace Prize recipient and her inner struggle with her faith.

"Where is my faith?" she wrote. "Even deep down… there is nothing but emptiness and darkness... If there be God — please forgive me."
"What do I labor for?" she asked in one letter. "If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul then, Jesus, You also are not true."

This just goes to show that even the so called super human messengers of God have their own inner doubts.

Bed side table

I found this funny but useful side table which doubles up as a fighting gizmo on treehugger.

Hope we will never get to use it but its not a bad idea to have a club and shield to give you a good fighting chance.

Here now, Gone where???

Talking of bare chested presidents, might as well mention Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President (who was on holiday recently in the US). His flabby love-handles mysteriously disappear in the picture published by the weekly magazine Paris Match but was around in the pictures published by Reuters.No doubt the importance of presenting physically fit appearances of Presidents has taken on a whole new level now :).

Putin flexes his muscles!

Russian Prez Vladimir Putin stripped off his shirt for the cameras while on holiday with Prince Albert II of Monaco in the Siberian mountains last week.

Popular Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda on Wednesday published a huge color photo of their barechested president with the headline: "Be Like Putin." Also published is a guide showing exactly what exercises were required to build up abs like that of the Russian leader!

Female admirers,Russian gay chat rooms and blogs were particularly intrigued by the photos of the Presidential torso ...

Fox Attacks Iran now

Brave New Films have released the latest video in their Fox Attacks series.If you wish to sign an open letter to the networks not to follow Fox's war drumbeats,you may do so here

A Q Khan 'elected' Pakistan's 'President'

The infamous and disgraced scientist,Dr. Abdul Qadar Khan,father of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal,who ran an arms bazaar that spread nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea, seems to be a highly popular man in Pakistan. He has been 'elected' as 'President'of Pakistan in a mock poll there. Many Pakistanis revere Dr. Khan as a national hero for creating the country’s nuclear weapons. Precisely the attitude that India has to be on guard about.

Abdul Qader Khan, the detained scientist who pioneered Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, was "elected" the country's president, defeating the incumbent, Pervez Musharraf, in a mock poll held by lawyers.

Musharraf received only one vote and Khan, whom he has placed under detention since January 2004, got 2,103 votes in the "presidential referendum" organised by the Save Judiciary Committee of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA).

X-Seed 4000, the tallest building on paper!

This futuristically designed building-if ever it comes into existence-will dwarf every other tallest building in the world. The X-Seed 4000,looking like Mt.Fuji and exceeding its height, is proposed to be built as a self-contained city in the Tokyo harbor, powered mainly by solar energy. It would measure an impossibly unthinkable height of 13123 feet with a ground area footprint of 6 sq.kms. It would contain 800 floors and house nearly one million inhabitants and become a city unto itself. Estimated cost of construction- a whopping $US 900 billion.



Designed by Taisei Construction as an “intelligent building,” the super futuristical building would maintain light, temperature, and air pressure in response to changing external weather conditions.

An interesting thing to ponder would be about the viability of transportation between the floors and around the building width. There would have to be a massive number of elevators. Parking would be a logistical nightmare. Even waste treatment has to be thought of and planned for elaborately.



There's an interesting show on discovery site which says just how it is possible to build such a monstrosity.

More bigotry

Some insightful gems from this saudi cleric aired on Iqra TV who shows zero tolerance for everything non-Islamic (which again is nothing new with the whole of their cult)and believes that the Islamic way of life is the only “right way” any society should live. Poor illusionary sod! He is so proud of being stupid :)).
Clicking on the image will take you to Memri TV

Bill Gates promoting Linux?!

I imagine this to be a photoshopped image. Or maybe Bill wishes to join the crowd rather than beat it!

What's Illegal to say in the US?

For more dumb and crazy laws in the US,you can see this website. Funny!

Masdar - Carbon free city

The world's first carbon-free city will be built in Abu Dhabi,the capital and the oil-rich emirate of the UAE.

By 2009, Abu Dhabi hopes to complete the construction of Masdar, a 3.7 mile enclosed city devoid of carbon and cars. To produce energy, the city will rely on a combination of wind, solar and geothermal energy.

According to their website, Masdar is “a global cooperative platform for open engagement in the search for solutions to some of mankind's most pressing issues: energy security, climate change and truly sustainable human development.”

Crumbling American Infrastructure

The dramatic collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minnesota a fortnight back,was,in some ways,more of a shock and a wakeup call to look into the huge decaying infrastructure of the country. America's infrastructure has an overall grade of D – or nearly failing – including roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other public works. Estimates are that it would take nearly $190 billion to fix just the country's failing bridges over the next two decades.The fixing of other infrastructure can take billions more.

According to a nytimes op-ed its difficult to replace decades old structural stuff as they are interconnected to a lot of other support systems. The more pressing issue is the availability of huge funds for the required changes and repairs.This would put the Federal Government into a huge debt and leave it bankrupt.

With the impending collapse of the housing market and of global credit markets, there are clear signs that the country is heading into another Great Depression. However,it may be able to pull out of it by injecting money into the economy in the form of massive public investment in infrastructure. But instead of borrowing the money from banks,leaving it massively in debt, the government should try creating debt and interest-free money with accounting entries and make the excess money generated to produce more goods and services just as Germany did in the decade following the first world war.

Whatever remedial measures that may be adopted, the problems cannot be easily wished away for a long time to come.

Greyjing Olympics!

Pollution could hinder Olympics in Beijing next year. Though China is trying to battle the scourge of pollution, it may not be possible to reduce the already high levels of polluted air in Beijing where the Olympics are scheduled to be held.The perma-haze in Beijing is certain to put a dampner on the Chinese enthusiasm because the Olympic Committee may not allow certain events to take place. According to the Wall Street Journal, some of the games may have to be rescheduled or even postponed.

Arctic Thaw

Soot or carbon black is the natural and industrial ash like substance. It has now been proved that soot emissions from U.S. coal burning may have significantly contributed and been a primary culprit for the fast melt-down of the arctic ice sheet. According to new research, an eight-fold increase in soot in the Arctic snow had taken place during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Soot reduces the reflectivity of snow and ice allowing the surface to absorb more energy from the sun.

When the United States switched to oil and gas and instituted air pollution controls, the amount of soot falling in the Arctic dropped substantially. However, soot is still a factor in Arctic warming because of coal emissions from the booming economies of Asia.

Missing Iraqi Weapons!

The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005.The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, and at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But the Pentagon has admitted that the weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures.
Jon Stewart calls it 'Profound Incompetence'. Sure it is!

Space Hotel -Around the world in 80 days minutes

The most expensive hotel is truly out of this world.The Galactic Suite space hotel is expected to open for business in orbit in 2012. A three-night stay 300 miles in orbit will be available to anyone with 3 million euros ($4.15 million).The hotel will orbit the earth every 80 minutes.The package includes shuttle trips to and fro plus an 18-week training program on a Caribbean island.

During their stay guests would see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman.The spa room will have bubbles of water which will float around. Bathrooms will be in zero gravity.

The hotel starts taking reservations in 2008.To make a reservation, send an e-mail to reservations@galacticsuite.com .

Source:Reuters