---

Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony? Is it too much to
ask that she come to realize that she wants, in that wonderful phrase in
American politics, "to spend more time with her family"? Having stayed
in purdah for weeks, she finally agreed to a third interview. CBS's
Katie Couric questioned her in her trademark sympathetic style. It
didn't help. When asked how living in the state closest to Russia gave
her foreign-policy experience, Palin responded thus:

"It's very important when you consider even national-security issues
with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the
United States of America. Where—where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just
right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make
sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia,
because they are right there. They are right next to—to our state."

There is, of course, the sheer absurdity of the premise. Two weeks ago I
flew to Tokyo, crossing over the North Pole. Does that make me an expert
on Santa Claus? (Thanks, Jon Stewart.) But even beyond that, read the
rest of her response. "It is from Alaska that we send out those …" What
does this mean? This is not an isolated example. Palin has been given a
set of talking points by campaign advisers, simple ideological mantras
that she repeats and repeats as long as she can. ("We mustn't blink.")
But if forced off those rehearsed lines, what she has to say is often,
quite frankly, gibberish.

Couric asked her a smart question about the proposed $700 billion
bailout of the American financial sector. It was designed to see if
Palin understood that the problem in this crisis is that credit and
liquidity in the financial system has dried up, and that that's why, in
the estimation of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed chairman Ben
Bernanke, the government needs to step in to buy up Wall Street's most
toxic liabilities. Here's the entire exchange:

COURIC: Why isn't it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion
helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care,
housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money
into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions
that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were
ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the
taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is
help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed
to help shore up our economy, helping the—it's got to be all about job
creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right
track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending
has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And
trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive,
scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector
today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things
under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

This is nonsense—a vapid emptying out of every catchphrase about
economics that came into her head. Some commentators, like CNN's
Campbell Brown, have argued that it's sexist to keep Sarah Palin under
wraps, as if she were a delicate flower who might wilt under the bright
lights of the modern media. But the more Palin talks, the more we see
that it may not be sexism but common sense that's causing the McCain
campaign to treat her like a time bomb.

Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be
vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done
some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about
any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a
time to start. The next administration is going to face a set of
challenges unlike any in recent memory. There is an ongoing military
operation in Iraq that still costs $10 billion a month, a war against
the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan that is not going well and is
not easily fixed. Iran, Russia and Venezuela present tough strategic
challenges.

Domestically, the bailout and reform of the financial industry will take
years and hundreds of billions of dollars. Health-care costs, unless
curtailed, will bankrupt the federal government. Social Security,
immigration, collapsing infrastructure and education are all going to
get much worse if they are not handled soon.

And the American government is stretched to the limit. Between the Bush
tax cuts, homeland-security needs, Iraq, Afghanistan and the bailout,
the budget is looking bleak. Plus, within a few years, the retirement of
the baby boomers begins with its massive and rising costs (in the
trillions).

Obviously these are very serious challenges and constraints. In these
times, for John McCain to have chosen this person to be his running mate
is fundamentally irresponsible. McCain says that he always puts country
first. In this important case, it is simply not true.

--
tnn

Well, much to my amusement, I notice this article in today's paper:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/27/polls.conservatives1

I have to laugh - because last night there was a tory chap, saying how
great it is to be a 'X' in modern Britain. I leave it to you to figure
out whether X is acceptable by the chap quoted in that article.

Superb.

--
tnn

Lots of speeches, lots of politicians. Frankly i wish they would change their speaking idols from stale professional peeps to wild and engaging folk.

Ironically as a recently elected official of a large org, i will have to set the bar.

So expect to hear of a mad num num who took a speech that little inch too far.

Hats off to the millionaires in the room tho.

Tnn
[mobile]

Its not clear where that was, but what is clear is the fact that society is now a very fragile thing.

Luckily there are still pockets of strength and sense, and whilst we are suffering inflation and an economic slow down, these pockets of strength are stepping up to shape the future.

But in this moment i must ask - all those people that paid a total of 100m for thingscalledart, did they think of how better to spend it? Are they the kind of pocket that will actually thrive whilst most starve?

Tnn
[mobile]

Work update - apparently i cant write. Things need editing and re-writes. Wouldnt mind but who reads my stuff anyway? It gets lost in gigabytes of noise. So does it matter if in a 18 page doc approximately 1 page of rewrites are necessary - taking a total review time of 8 hours?

I would think its not that big a deal. But when you cant argue with the content i guess the presentation is next best thing.

What i do need to do is be more abstract. Apparently concepts like simplification are more sexy than standardised offerings.

Its all irrelevant when the chips are down on the happiness table though.

Tnn
[mobile]

http://www.popsci.com/video/2008-01/3m-beats-everyone-micro-projector-business

Amazing little gadget. The first step in this personal broadcast
revolution I suspect.

--
tnn

That is, ladies and gents, the Kindle's simplicity. Forget its dodgy
v1.0 issues, the fact that four days of battery life isn't fabulous, and
the lack of tablet-pc type browsing capability. Instead concentrate on
the fact that it is many books in one unit.

There are many reviews out there, here's an arbitrary one:
http://reviews.cnet.com/e-book-readers/amazon-kindle/4505-3508_7-32751890.html

Problem is, when will it be available in the UK?

The best would be:
- make it available in the UK for about 150 quid
- let amazon.co.uk customers 'convert' real books to ebooks for free, I
mean we've paid OTT for paper, emphasise the nature of the beast by
turning bookshelves virtual at no cost
- flat price books at 3 quid
- flat price magazines at 99p

That would all work, because think about it - no more printing and
distribution costs.

Anyway, thats what I would do if I were a billionaire eCommerce dude.

--
tnn

That's a lot of money for basic equipment in my opinion. If you consider
an iPhone is only a little more expensive, and contains much more
innovative technology. So why hasn't commodity laptop pricing reduced
these to say around 200 quid?

I am hoping this pinch in the economy will drive prices down. That way,
these kids can get a good usable laptop to work through school assignments.

At present, I am thinking of getting this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146032/show_product_overview

Its got good battery life, good reviews, and is Linux rather than Windows.

--
tnn

I am now worried about something. Its immediately impacted me physically. My stomach is funny and breathing shallow.

Hate this feeling. Time to think of nicer things.

Tnn
[mobile]

If you know, you'll appreciate the puns, tricks and humour immensely.

Clever, yet sometimes banal and always cheeky.

enjoy...

--
tnn

Tnn
[mobile]

Not sure why i'm blogging it, guess i'm pleased.

No doubt it means more trips to manchester. Cool.

Tnn
[mobile]

Nothing causes a louder shriek in Britain than if you challenge the
right of the rich to pass their privilege untouched on to their
children. The shadow chancellor George Osborne has just decreed that the
richest 1 per cent will – under David Cameron – be allowed to inherit £2
million estates they have done nothing to earn without paying a penny of
it towards schools and hospitals. The "horror" of inheritance tax –
introduced in the great progressive wave of the Edwardian era – will be
over. This has been greeted with a gurgle of pleasure by Conservatives;
why should anyone get in the way of wealth "cascading down the
generations", as a Tory Prime Minister once put it?

Over the next few months, an even more tender spot for the privileged
will be pressed: Oxford and Cambridge admissions. Today, a third of all
Oxbridge students come from just 100 top schools. For example, half of
the entire intake of £20,000-a-year Westminster School go there every
year: some 410 pupils. The wealthy now have a taken-for-granted
expectation that their kids will go to the best universities.

Some on the right, like the late Bill Deedes, explained this by saying
the wealthy are a genetic over-class who naturally have cleverer
children. But there's a hole in the side of this theory: several studies
have shown that when rich people adopt kids from poor backgrounds, those
children go on to do just as well.

To see how this buying of unearned privilege works, I have to introduce
you to two people I know who applied to study Philosophy at the same
Cambridge college as me in 1998. The first is a likeable, confident guy
whose parents are wealthy businesspeople. Let's call him Andrew. They
sent him to one of the most expensive private schools in Britain, and he
had never been in a class larger than 12. He was trained for over a year
for his Cambridge interview – a near-scientific drill that included
one-on-one tuition by Oxbridge graduates, extensive rewriting of his
application form "with" a teacher, and even being videoed so his body
language could be analysed.

The other person, by contrast, was a chain-smoking teenager brought up
on an Enfield estate by her dinner-lady mum. Laura wrote her application
alone, and she had no preparation for her interview at all. None. Most
of her A-level classes had 25 people in them, and were led by teachers
who hadn't even got top grades themselves. Andrew got four As. Laura got
an A and three Bs.

Who had demonstrated they were smarter? I'd say Laura did – but she was
rejected, while Andrew got in. His training – and a lifetime in such
surroundings – paid off. Laura was nervous, and her complex thoughts
about Nietzsche and Hume and Russell must have appeared less polished.
It was Cambridge's loss: the cleverer student got away. This isn't a
stray anecdote. For too long, it was the main story. In 2006, for
example, the gap between the best private schools and the best grammar
schools in exam results was just 1 per cent – but the private schools
students were still twice as likely to be admitted.

Here's where we get to the pressure-point. For the past few years,
senior figures in Oxford and Cambridge – pressured by a Labour
government – have resolved this can't go on. They want to run a
university for the best, not a highbrow finishing school. So they have
begun to introduce very mild reformist measures. Instead of just looking
at the surface of exam and interview performance, they will judge them
in the context of the student's life. They'll look at your school's
average exam grades, whether your parents went to university, and the
area you're from: if you got good grades at a school in Moss Side,
you'll be rated higher. This is painted by huffing headmasters at
private schools as "positive discrimination". But the choice is not
between a system that discriminates and one that doesn't. It's between a
blunt, blind admissions system that discriminates in favour of wealthy
well-trained interview-machines, and a sophisticated, seeing one that
snuffles out the genuinely clever.

Soon the green shoots of these new policies will become clear. Geoff
Parks, Cambridge's Director of Admissions, says early indicators show
there will be a "significant" increase in pupils from normal backgrounds
this year. Expect a firestorm of anger. The right-wing press will rage
that "middle-class" children are being "persecuted". Their definition of
"middle-class" is increasingly comic: the median wage in Britain is
£24,000. Half of us earn more; half of us earn less. Yet they describe
as "Middle England" people who spend that entire sum every year on one
child's schooling.

Often, the privileged will defend their place merely with a visceral
howl of "It's mine!" For example, David Cameron's relative Harry Mount
has written an angry article asking, "What's wrong with keeping Oxford
within the family?" He admits his success at his interview was
"staggeringly unfair" but went on to say the only problem is rich people
can't buy preference for their children outright with "donations."

There will be furious predictions that Oxbridge will collapse under a
"chav-alanche" of inferior students. Those of us who believe that in
Britain you should be able to get to the top if you are smart need to
push back hard for these changes to be stepped up. Of course Oxbridge
can't get us all the way to genuine meritocracy. For that, the schools
system needs to be reworked to be genuinely comprehensive, rather than
the parody we have today where they are split between good schools
selecting by house-price and sink schools for the rest. But even with
the unequal products of that system, Oxbridge can go a lot further.

In the 1970s, when the former Conservative Prime Minister Harold
Macmillan was Chancellor of Oxford University, he was amazed by the
changes in the admissions process. "In my day," he said, "all they asked
you was where you got your boots made." In the 2040s, we will be equally
astonished that Oxbridge used to rely so heavily on interviews that give
an unfair advantage to the well-drilled children of the wealthy.

--
tnn

"Article in The Indy"

Incidentally, try not to fall into the trap of thinking that the
national government will save your home for you. Why would it?

/antagonistic

--
tnn

Everyone hates their Internet service provider. And with good cause: In the age of ubiquitous Internet access, Web service in America is still often frustratingly slow. Tired of being the villain, telecom companies have assigned blame for this problem to a new bad guy. He's called the "bandwidth hog," and it's his fault that streaming video on your computer looks more like a slide show than a movie. The major ISPs all tell a similar story: A mere 5 percent of their customers are using around 50 percent of the bandwidth—sometimes more during peak hours. While these "power users" are sharing three-gig movies and playing online games, poor granny is twiddling her thumbs waiting for Ancestry.com to load.
The ISPs are certainly correct that there's a problem: The current network in the United States struggles to accommodate everyone, and the barbarians at the gate—voice-over-IP telephony, live video streams, high-def movies—threaten to drown the grid. (This Deloitte report has a good treatment of that eventuality.) It's less clear that the telecom companies, fixated as they are on the bandwidth hogs, are doing a good job of managing the problem and planning for the future. The ISPs have put forward two big ideas, in recent months, about how to fix our bandwidth crisis. We can arrange these plans into two categories: horrible now and horrible later.

--  tnn 

Shares in Europe and Asia have rallied after the US government said that it was taking over troubled mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Investors hoped the largest bail-out in US history would prop up the country's housing market and ultimately help to end the credit crunch, analysts said.

London, Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo markets all rose by more than 3%.

US president George Bush said the two mortgage lenders had posed "an unacceptable risk" to the economy.

US financial officials have outlined plans for the government to take over the failing mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The two companies account for nearly half of the outstanding mortgages in the US, and have lost billions of dollars during the US housing crash.

The most recent figures show about 9% of US homeowners were behind on their payments or faced repossession.

The federal takeover is one of the largest bail-outs in US history.

--
tnn

Mark Ramprakash smashed his 103rd career century as Surrey's rain-hit championship match against Kent finally saw action on day three at Canterbury.

The 39-year-old arrived at the crease at 0-1 after opener Scott Newman had been bowled by Robbie Joseph.

And Ramprakash laid into Kent's attack, smashing 127 off 176 balls with 12 boundaries and six sixes before he was caught off Yasir Arafat (3-42).

-- 
tnn

The Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos are being hammered by Hurricane Ike, the fourth major storm to sweep the region in the past three weeks.

Ike, a ferocious Category Four storm, barreled over the archipelago with winds of up to 135mph (215km/h).

Forcecasters say it could dump up to 12 inches (30cm) of rain as it powers towards Cuba and the Bahamas, passing just north of Haiti, over the next day.

Haiti is still reeling from earlier storms, which left at least 600 dead.

Heavy rain that has affected parts of England and Wales may continue to cause flooding for several days, the Environment Agency has warned.

It said that while the rain has eased, river levels are still rising. Flash floods have hit Yorkshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Northumberland is particularly badly affected with an estimated 1,000 properties flooded in Morpeth.

Hundreds of people have had to spend the night in temporary accommodation.

People should consider eating less meat as a way of combating global warming, says the UN's top climate scientist.

Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will make the call at a speech in London on Monday evening.

UN figures suggest that meat production puts more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than transport.

There you have it, its just a myth. Myths are not real. What we see above has nothing to do with global warming - its just stuff that is happening to us, regularly, and we will like previous cultures, deal with it.

Won't we?

There is a primal link between man and fire. For ancient man, fire provided warmth, protection from wild animals, light in the dark wildness, and a place to cook food. While fire is no longer vital to most men’s existence, it still has a magnetic power that attracts us. The flames of fire can inspire legendary stories, generate uplifting discussion, and build camaraderie among the men circled around them. Also, there’s nothing more romantic than cuddling up to your gal next to a warm fire. And I’d take some manly campfire cooked grub over the food of a four star restaurant any day. Thus every man should know how to start one and be well-practiced in doing so.

Create Your Fire Bed

When building a fire, always think about safety first. You don’t want to be that guy who starts a raging wildfire in a national park. If your camping site has a designated fire area, use it. If you’re camping in a more rugged area that lacks fire sites, you’ll need to make your own. Select a site away from trees, bushes, and other plant material. Your fire bed should on bare earth, not grass, especially dead grass. If you can’t find a bare area, make your own by digging and raking away plant material, taking particular care in clearing away all dry plant material.  Dry grass, branches, and bark catch fire easily.

After you’ve cleared the area, it’s time to make your bed. Gather in dirt and place it in the center of your cleared area. Form the dirt into a “platform” that’s about 3-4 inches thick.

Time to Gather Your Wood

You’ll need three basics types of materials to build your roaring campfire: tinder, kindling, and fuel wood.

Tinder. Every good campfire starts with good tinder. Tinder catches fire easily, but burns fast. Material like dry leaves, dry bark, wood shavings, dry grass, and some fluffy funguses make for good tinder. If you’re a smart camper, you’ll bring your own tinder in the form of dryer lint. Bringing your own lint is especially important when everything outside is wet. Wet tinder does not catch on fire.

Kindling. Tinder burns fast, so you’ll need something with more substance to keep your flame going. You can’t move directly to big logs. You’ll just smother your little flame. That’s where kindling comes in. Kindling usually consists of small twigs and branches. Go for something that’s about the width of a pencil. Like tinder, kindling needs to be dry or else it won’t burn as easily. If all you have are wet twigs and branches, try whittling away the damp bark with your pocket knife.

Fuel wood. Fuel wood is what keeps your fire hot and burning. Contrary to popular belief, fuel wood doesn’t have to look like the huge logs you use in a fireplace. If you go too big, it’s going to take a long time for the wood to catch fire. Look for branches that are about as wide as your wrist or your forearm.

General tips. When gathering wood for a fire, collect wood that snaps and breaks easily. Dry wood burns the best. If your wood bends, it’s too wet or “green.” If your try to make a fire with this sort of wood, you’ll just get a lot of smoke. Unlike tinder and kindling, fuel wood can be a little damp. The fire will dry it out. But it’s definitely not ideal.

Collect twice as much tinder, kindling, and fuel wood as you think you’ll need. You’ll be surprised how fast you’ll go through tinder and kindling when you’re starting your fire.

Lay Your Fire

There are several ways to lay your fire. Here are three of the most common types of lays.

Teepee Fire Lay

1.      Place your tinder bundle in the middle of your campfire site.

2.      Above your tinder bundle, form a teepee with some kindling. Leave an opening in your teepee on side the wind is blowing against. This will ensure that your fire gets the air it needs and will blow the flames onto the kindling.

3.      Continue adding kindling to the teepee, working your way up to pencil sized twigs.

4.      Create a larger teepee structure around your kindling teepee with your fuel wood.

5.      Place a match under your tinder. Because this lay directs the flame up, the flame should rise to the kindle and then on to the fuel wood.

6.      The teepee structure will eventually fall, and at this point you can simply add some fuel logs to the fire.

Lean-to Fire Lay

1.      Stick a long piece of kindling into the ground at about a 30 degree angle. The end of the stick should be pointing into the wind.

2.      Place a tinder bundle underneath the support stick.

3.      Place some small pieces of kindling around your tinder nest.

4.      Lay small pieces of kindling against the piece of kindling stuck in the ground. Add another layer with larger pieces of kindling.

5.      Light the tinder, and watch it burn.

Log Cabin Fire Lay

1.      Start off by creating a small teepee lay.

2.      Have you played with Lincoln Logs? Basically, you’re going to play a larger version of Lincoln Logs and burn them when you’re done.

3.      Get large pieces of fuel wood and place them on opposite sides of the tepee.

4.      Find smaller pieces of fuel wood and lay them across the first set of fuel wood, parallel on the other sides of the tepee. Just like you would with Lincoln Logs.

5.      Repeat laying smaller and shorter pieces to form a cabin or pyramid shape.

6.      Light this baby up.

Putting Out Your Fire

So you’re done with your fire. Unless you want to break Smokey the Bear’s heart, you need to put it out thoroughly. The following guidelines will kill your fire good and dead.

Start early. Putting out a fire completely takes longer than you think. Plan when you’re going to bed or leaving and start putting out your fire about 20 minutes before then.

Sprinkle, don’t pour. You should have a bucketful of water near your campfire for safety reasons. When it’s time to go, this will serve as your fire extinguisher. Avoid the impulse to pour all the water on the fire. You don’t want to flood the pit because you or someone else will need to use it later. Instead, sprinkle as much water as you need to put out the embers and charcoal.

Stir. As you sprinkle water over the embers, stir them with a stick or shovel. This ensures that all the ashes get wet. When you don’t see any steam and don’t hear any hissing noises, you know you’re getting close to a completely extinguished fire.

Touch test. Don’t actually run your hands through the ashes. You don’t want to brand yourself with a searing ember. Put the back of your hand near the ashes. If you still feel heat, it’s too hot to leave. Keep adding water and stirring. As soon as it feels cool, you’re good to go.

Dispose the ashes. You don’t want to leave the next camper a fire bed full of old ashes. Also, if you had to create your own fire bed, you want to leave the land in the same condition as how you found it. Scoop up the ashes in a bag and spread them out around the campsite.

Patch up your ground. If you made your own fire bed, replace the dirt and sod you dug up.

--  tnn

A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from
Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic
indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier,
scientists said Wednesday.

Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in
Ontario, told The Associated Press that the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice
Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now
adrift in the Arctic Ocean.

So, how long before more melts and more of these melts are published.

--
tnn

Secret # 1 : Happiness comes from within.

In my adult business life I have never had to make a choice of trading between professional and personal. I tap-dance to work, and when I get there it’s tremendous fun.- Warren Buffett

Secret # 2 Find happiness in simple pleasures.

I have simple pleasures. I play bridge online for 12 hours a week. Bill and I play, he’s “chalengr” and I’m “tbone”. — Warren Buffett

Secret # 3 Live a simple life.

I just naturally want to do things that make sense. In my personal life too, I don’t care what other rich people are doing. I don’t want a 405 foot boat just because someone else has a 400 foot boat. — Warren Buffett

Secret # 4 Think Simply.

“I want to be able to explain my mistakes. This means I do only the things I completely understand.” - Warren Buffett

Secret # 5 Invest Simply.

The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund. - Warren Buffett

Secret # 6 Have a mentor in life.

I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. The qualities of the one you admire are the traits that you, with a little practice, can make your own, and that, if practiced, will become habit-forming. - Warren Buffett

Secret # 7 Making money isn’t the backbone of our guiding purpose; making money is the by-product of our guiding purpose.

If you’re doing something you love, you’re more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money. - Warren Buffett

--  tnn

Normal services will be resumed as soon as possible (read, when I figure
out the right css).

--
tnn