China: Cold War Hots Up

Increasingly the US and China are acting as though the 'Cold War' that had existed between the US and USSR in earlier decades has never ended and that they have inherited that mantle. I say that, because its increasingly obvious that the Chinese have two expansionist foreign policy objectives (as well as their interests in Africa), that are going to require the deployment (or the credible threat) of armed force.

 The two main objectives are:

1. "Reunion" with Taiwan, by whatever means, and 
2. The Chinese quite ridiculously claim all the islands in the South China seas, including the Spratly Isles (which as you can see from this map, actually run up to within 30 miles of the Philippines), that are well over a 1,000 miles from the Chinese mainland at their furthest point.  

 

The Taiwan issue is complicated by the fact that its a long-standing ally of the United States, and the Chinese Military need to be able to stop the US Military from supporting Taiwan, if Chinese forces ever blockaded, or even invaded Taiwan.

Hurricanes And Women

Hurricanes and Typhoons were always seemingly named after women.


Hurricane Irene Hits The Colonies

 

Apparently in 1953, the US National Weather Service picked up on the habit of their Naval meteorologists, in naming the storms after women. 

Simpsons Guests Flop

The News that Lady Gaga is going to guest on 'The Simpsons' made me curl up a little inside ....

Lady Gaga Simpsonised

.... although perhaps unfairly, as she has obviously has a sense of humour.

 

Naked As A Jaybird

There is a man in the UK who has been behaving in an ever more bizarre manner, but whom the courts and society seem unable to control. 

Union Jack Added!

 

He is known by the press as "The Naked Rambler" (ex soldier, Stephen Gough), and as his moniker suggests, he parades around like 'the emperor in his new suit' i.e Stark Naked!

 

Goodbye And Good Riddance

This Blog has spent much time following the insane antics of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, often under the title of the 'Gadfather' (of Africa), but we never lost sight of the fact that he was a dictator, cast in the same mould as Saddam Hussein and others in the region.


Gaddafi Never Lacked For Megalomania

When the "Arab Spring" series of revolutions swept across part of the region, Gaddafi appeared to be the dictators bulwark by resisting the changes, and sweeping apparently inexorably towards Benghazi (the focus point of the revolt) .... but then NATO stepped in, and the possibility of a massacre was averted. However a stalemate ensued, and it looked as though he would retain at least control of half of the country, until the events of the last couple of weeks, when the rebels, aided by NATO warplanes, started moving slowly forward again.


Gaddafi Has Ordered Scuds To Be Fired 

Then yesterday there was a sudden change in events, resistance crumbled, and the rebels swept into Tripoli and have now entered Gaddafi's compound .... they are now hunting for the dictator and his family, especially his sons.


Statues Toppled

The similarities with the end of Saddam are quite striking, as statues are toppled, and vows of resistance to the death have proved to be just words .... he is now believed to be either skulking around in the city somewhere, or to have fled to his hometown of Sirte, which has been a stronghold of regime loyalism to him over the years.


Traditional Disrespect Of Sole Of Shoe

Whether he is caught hiding in a hole, with his sons killed or surrenders to the tender mercies of the rebels remains to be seem, but it seems unlikely that he will die resisting.


Spasmodic Resistance Is Met By Firepower  

He may of course try to flee the country along with his extended family ..... Although where he might go seems to be a problem. 

Gaddafi's Main Son And Designated 'Successor' Saif al-Islam  

However they may prefer a trial in the International Tribunal in the Hague (and probably a rather cushy 'life' imprisonment), rather than a trial and probable execution in Libya. Only time will tell, but it seems his reign is over ... we will have to wait and see what comes next.

Edinburgh During The Festival

I have uploaded a few photos taken during the The Edinburgh Festival .... they are in no particular order of precedence, being merely a flavour of the event .....


A Giant Amongst Men ... well amongst tourists



Edinburgh Castle From Grass Market



Edinburgh High St During Fringe



Edinburgh During The Fringe



Edinburgh High St During The Fringe



The Wee Windaes



High St Edinburgh



High St Statue King



High St View From Princes St Edinburgh



Pan The Scottish Piper



Smithies Ale House Eyre Place Edinburgh



St Giles Close

 

The Sun Shines On The Righteous



Vikings and Japanese



Summer Comes To The Fringe

 



You Get All Sorts At 'Smithies Ale House'

Edinburgh Fringe 2011

Yes, its that time again, when all at PC Towers head north of Hadrian's Wall to attend the "Edinburgh Fringe Festival". Regular followers of this thread will be aware that this annual visit to the City of Edinburgh, always results in one blog on the acts seen, and the general feel of the event.

So without further ado, here are the acts seen by us, listed under our stars of recommendation:

• Steve Pretty's Perfect Mixtape - resurrecting the art of the 'mixtape' (ask your dad kids): See review below

• Edinburgh Bloody Edinburgh - Davytheghost (comedian, storyteller, historian and published author): Suffered from having only four people in the crowd on the night. Only 35 mins material and a guided walk which wasn't an attractive option on a rainy night.   

• The Axis of Awesome -  Australia's kings of comedy rock: Very professional, but act too similar to a few years ago, and they could do with a re-invention of jokes and material to go back to five stars.  
• Matt Forde: Dishonourable Member - ex New Labour political intern, does comedy: Funny and not too PC Labourish (he even "hugged his inner Tory" after the riots), but may be a one trick pony.
• Mythbunking - Dr Glen Eusebius and Professor John Porcupig, from the ancient society known as The MythMasons: Good act, but like Matt Forde may be an act that stays the same each year. 
• Tom Bell Begins - A spoof Hollywood-style life story: Very good, got a lot of laughs, and looks to have a real chance to become a star of the festivals, although we assume he wants TV to take a look.  
• Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer - Mark Olver kills clowns "Actual violence guaranteed": Old style comic pro, who gives off an aura of jaded been there, seen it, done it .... 16+ show which some numpty took his three children to! Was warned what was to come, refused to take the hint and then sat there grim faced at adult content. Olver added a fake telephone call from social services to the end of the show, in which he said he had no idea why someone would take their young children to an adult themed show ... cue cheers from crowd. 

• Frisky and Mannish - Pop Centre Plus - Wanna be a pop star? Think you got what it takes? Let our pop picker impresarios show you just how easy (or hard) it is - Audience participation included.   

Worst show (in our opinion):

 "Steve Pretty's Perfect Mixtape" - possibly about twenty minutes worth of humorous material, forcibly stretched to last one hour - could do with watching 'Tom Bell Begins' to see how to create a comic narrative thread.  

Best Show (in our opinion):

"Frisky and Mannish" - Pop Centre Plus: Superb comedy musical duo: Very polished act who got a standing ovation from the crowd. 

 
You can see video performances of what makes the Fringe Buzz on their website here:

Falsa Romani

After spending a week watching Britannia dragged through the gutter by the new Barbarians, it was ironic that the other story that caught my eye was one of false Romans.

A Familiar Sight Outside of The Coliseum

 

I love these tales of role players getting carried away.

Cameron: "Fightback!"

After losing the streets to what the BBC still insists are "youths" (the first man convicted, was a 31 yr old primary school mentor, followed by a postman, a lifeguard, and a charity worker), the Prime Minister, in his latest 'Finest Hour' moment said that: "We needed a fight back and a fight back is underway. We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we’ve seen some of the best of Britain: the million people who’ve signed up on Facebook to support the police, communities coming together in the cleanup operations."

Churchill would have been proud!

He apparently sees no irony in announcing a "fightback" against many of his own so called fellow 'citizens' of this dis - United Kingdom .... effectively treating this as yet another 'War'. Churchill said, in another conflict, " We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender" .... bit more of a ring to it one feels.

Is this really the same politician who once said that we should "Hug A Hoodie"?  .... so now, as well as being under pressure to stop  further police funding cuts,  he will also probably be under pressure to stop reducing the size of the Army, after all, you need an Army to 'fightback' in a war ....

Another politician was once asked what made or broke Prime Ministerships, he said 'Events, my dear boy, events' .... this will be the making or breaking of Cameron as a P.M. ... fortunately 'Sergeant Showers' turned up yesterday, and the rioters stayed at home rather than get wet, so no riots last night  .... Victory!

Law And Order: Losing The Streets

The Police have lost the streets in the black areas of London (Peckham, Lewisham, East Ham, Hackney etc etc), and there are also reports that there are 'disturbances' in Afro-Caribbean areas of other cities in the rest of the UK e.g. Birmingham and Leeds.


Three ladies "Out Shopping" and assorted ethnic cultural events

No doubt the copycat 'lowlifes' will try it on in St Paul's in Bristol, and other towns such as Manchester. Lets hope someone decides to police this with real firmness in one of these cities, before anyone is murdered .... its an indication of what passes for 'law and order' in the dis-United Kingdom these days, that the authorities can't deal with a bunch of looters and arsonists.

 

The Ethnic Gangs Of London Town

Tottenham in London is what politicians quaintly describe as a 'vibrant multicultural' area ... Wiki describes it a 'multicultural hotspot', meaning its has a large Afro-Caribbean community, and consequently very high crime rates, loads of gun crimes, a large lawless 'Gangsta' community, hoodies, drug wars, and the highest unemployment rate in London .... it was also the scene of the 1985 Broadwater Farm riot.

Last night they had what passes for a peaceful protest in a 'multicultural hotspot', over a shooting. Not because of the shooting per se, no, they have shootings in Tottenham regularly, drive by gang shootings are common in the area. No, what kicked off the 'peaceful protest' was that the police shot a man who was allegedly carrying and used an illegal weapon in the back of a mini cab .... obviously he was immediately classed as a pillar of the local community, and the killing as a 'police assassination' by locals.

The man was named as Mark Duggan (aka Starrish Mark) and the killing was being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, although the evidence on the BBC website suggests that there was no illegal activity by the police. It gives a description by local resident David Akinsanya, who was at the scene of the fatal shooting soon after the incident, who said that an eye witness had told him that a police officer had shouted to the man to stop "a couple of times", but the man had not heeded the warning.

Still, we have the right to 'peaceful protest' in the UK, although they may not have considered what this might mean in a 'multicultural hotspot' when that right was given  .... but Quelle surprise! within 5 minutes of the crowd gathering, the first bricks were volleyed at the local police station, followed by petrol bombs, and then the 'peaceful protesters' decided that a local 'carpet shop' needed to be taught a lesson as well, and it was torched. This was then followed by the looting and torching of the local supermarkets, a local bank cash machine, PC world, local shops, and in fact, anything that could conceivably have any value was looted, before the properties were torched.


Wecome to Tottenham

Above all these buildings were occupied residential properties and flats, the residents of these buildings had to run for their lives as these 'protesters' wilfully burnt every building. Even this morning the police don't know if any residents were killed in the fires .... no doubt the apologists for this sort of 'cultural' activity will be out in force today ... suddenly the theft, arson and possible attempted murder (eight police officers in hospital, and a search underway for any bodies in the burnt out shells of the flats), will all be condoned by local 'spokespersons'.

As for the police, well whether their hands were tied or they were being led by some officer who believes all the PC crap about 'sensitive policing', will no doubt come out in the endless enquiries that will be instigated to 'explain why this happened' (its a 'multicultural hotspot', that's why it happened .... they don't like being policed, end of story), but last night, all reports suggest that they were impotent and allowed the looting to go unchecked, and this was followed by the arson.

No doubt yet more public funds will be wasted trying to get businesses to rebuild again in the area, but considering the propensity of the local community to looting them, I suspect that they will all think long and hard about this  .... I was in Manchester during the Moss-Side riots, when princess road was burnt to the ground ... it took over a decade for the road to recover its shops.

Who Needs The Tooth Fairy?

Finally, continuing with the idiots theme .... most of us use a dentist to remove a bad tooth, but in these cash straightened times (unless you are a banker), some people are tempted into novel money saving ideas to remover troublesome molars ....

An idiots dentistry tip...

So take one motorbike, one piece of string, one gap toothed brother, and a bit of imagination ...... apparently its dad who is behind the camera ..... so that's alright then!

One Step Forward And Two Steps Backward

In a move that seems to set women's sports back at least 100 yrs, the sport with the fastest growing following in the US state of California is "Lingerie Basketball" which has fans from across the state flocking to courts to see the girls play in their underwear uniforms .....

Sport, but not as we know it Captain ....

Its not as though these are 'bimbo's' either, many of the players are former star college athletes.

Tantastic Hoax

A website that was offering visitors the chance to get a tan from their computer screens, by downloading software which would enable screens to convert the light system in monitors to produce UV rays was in fact a hoax.

What a surprise eh?

Well apparently it was to the 200,000 people who tried to sign up to get the software .... they were treated to a series of pictures and facts and figures about the dangers of skin cancer by the charity who were running the site.

"There's one born every minute" is never truer than today .....

Before They Ask

No doubt the message boards in forums all across the 'West' and the 'Arab world', will be full of comments suggesting that the West should now tackle the violence in Syria, like they have done in Libya ..... they will no doubt point out that Libya (like Iraq) has oil, while Syria doesn't.

I will simply point out that once again that Russia and China have so far opposed a draft resolution condemning Damascus .... and that once again the Arab League has fallen silent while the tanks move in to cities across Syria.  We have a saying that "God helps those who help themselves"


Tanks in the streets

While the arabs and their regimes remain silent, and their 'friends' in Russia and China oppose any efforts to stop the violence of the regime crackdown, then it ill behoves those commentators who want the West to sort out the worlds bad regimes via force of arms, to say one word against us. Remember one persons support of liberation revolts, is another viewers 'Western Imperialism'  ....
  

Shell Smoke over Hama

We can't do right for doing wrong in these matters .... 'imperialism and interference' when we do something, but 'inaction and double standards' when we don't do something they want.  

Update:

Its now February 2012, and the 'one party' Chinese and 'one president' Russians are still blocking any 'interference' by the West. Laughably, the arabs are still moaning that its the West that are keeping Assad in power. Russia and China have blood on their hands but then thats nothing new is it?