[anna politkovskaya] sorry but it simply isn't so

Ellee Seymour wrote yesterday about Anna’s killing. I prefaced my remarks by indicating that I felt it was terrible. However, as a journalist, does she want a blogger to tell it as it is or should I ride a wave of incorrect information? The Washington Times wrote not long ago: Slaying of Russian reporter jolts nation The slaying of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya sent shock waves across Russia yesterday and raised fresh doubts about press freedoms under President Vladimir Putin. Rubbish! I’ve lived here all day today, went to the uni, spoke with Russians all day in Russian and not one – not one – raised the issue. This is not correct what the western press is saying. And Putin's assurance to Bush was more a response to the west than to his own country who largely know it wasn't him.

[north korea] the inevitability of it all

North Korea's was underground but the result was similar

The Telegraph* called it this act of madness by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il. It’s not madness – it is cold, it is calculated and it’s like a group of little boys wanting to see what an explosion looked like; it is like a group of driven men bereft of concern for the world at large; it is like every homeboy who wants ‘respect, man’. It is like a group of intelligent morons. They will not be dissuaded. Like Stalin when he was asked to be careful not to offend the Pope: ‘Oh, how many divisions does he have?’ The Telegraph continues: So Mr Kim - beloved of his badly misled people - can expect to find himself even further isolated from the community of world nations in the immediate future. Does anyone seriously think he cares? [* Sorry, went to put in the link and suddenly they'd taken the story away.]

[i'm back] 2nd crash was worse than the first

May I tell you about it? Have to get it off the chest. Yesterday’s crash wiped out my E disk with all addresses plus all downloaded programmes, including the IntelliMouse plus the Bat. As you can see from the posts, we worked on it yesterday and got the system back up but then it crashed again this morning – this time one hard disk was completely gone. All photos, music and video went with it. New hard disk is not cheap, even over here. Knowing there were a lot of e-mails banked up, we did everything to get it receiving then the other guy had a brainwave. One phone call and yep – the delightful provider had me blocked for being a naughty boy. Now it seems to be back but I’m saying nothing, touching wood and hoping Mr. Kaspersky will do his bit.

[sunday quiz] 10 more mystery countries

Here are ten more to test your knowledge of the world:

11 This country is mainly black and it was a member of the British Commonwealth, then it was expelled, then reinstated. It has a large population in London. There are two main regions – north and south and one of the languages is known as Ebu. They have an excellent national football team.

Next nine plus answers here.

[president] woman in the white house

The experts say this is the contest. In recent interviews, Hillary Clinton said she had “no intention” of running for president in 2008 but did not rule it out [if pressured to stand]. If she did, some say National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice would be the perfect Republican to pit against her. Democratic strategist Doug Hattaway said Rice's gender would be a big bonus for the Republicans in a race against Clinton, but added that he doesn’t think a contest between the two females would focus on topics like abortion and family leave. “It would turn on who has a better vision for the country, on who would better lead the world’s only superpower.” Either way, America, prepare ye the way for the first female Chief Exec and good luck to you.

[ashes] don’t know how much of this to believe

You’ve probably already read this: London Tube bombers plotted to kill the Australian cricket team by spraying sarin gas into their change rooms during last year's Ashes series, a friend of the terrorists claims. Al-Qaida commanders allegedly ordered the suicide bombers to get jobs at Edgbaston Cricket Ground and wipe out the Australian and England players. They were instructed to release sarin gas, a highly toxic nerve agent that is one of the world's most dangerous chemical weapons. But cricket-loving terrorist Shehzad Tanweer apparently objected and instead the terrorist cell perpetrated the July 7 underground Tube and bus bombings that killed 56 people and injured more than 700. What a hero.