[monday] the best of days

Monday - a day when all good things are going to come to you, when you'll buy a little something for that someone special and passionate romance will be rekindled [if it's not already]. A day to ignore cloudy skies and the troubles of the world and have a satisfying ... er ... cup of coffee. A great opportunity to do that little act of kindness you've been planning for some time. Nothing's going to dampen this Monday for you, no matter what. So let's get out there and get going, people!

[hezbollah] locally esteemed, re-armed and ready for action again

A Hezbollah rocket launched into Israel – 19, 999 to go

Norma Geras reports: Four months after Israel launched its onslaught against Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrillas are back in south Lebanon stronger than ever and armed with more rockets than they had before the conflict, according to Israeli intelligence.

"Since the ceasefire, additional rockets, weapons and military equipment have reached Hezbollah," said an Israeli intelligence officer. "We assume they now have about 20,000 rockets of all ranges - a bit more than they had before July 12."

As a political party, a militia and social welfare organization, Hezbollah has used the devastation of the war with Israel to help strengthen the allegiance of Shiites, giving out money and services that the government has so far failed to deliver. Though no one knows for sure the size of each group in Lebanon — there has not been a census since the 1930s — Shiites are believed to make up more than 30 percent of the population, and by some estimates have reached a plurality.

But it would require a major leap for the Shiites to realize their political goal of dominance — and their efforts to reach it could threaten long-term instability, and perhaps bring armed conflict.

[referendum] south ossetia votes to secede

South Ossetia has overwhelmingly voted for independence in a referendum. “I can only say there has been a victory for South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity and more than 90 per cent of the people have voted in favour of independence for our republic,” Bella Pliyeva, head of the election commission, said. The vote yesterday is seen as illegal in the West and there were no Western monitors present at the poll, but Russia says it should be respected.

Wiki says the Ossetians are originally descendants of Iranian-speaking tribes from Central Asia. They became Christians during the early Middle Ages, under Georgian influence. Trouble is, there is no racial homogeneity in the region and there was a lot of intergenerational intermarriage with Muslims which created peace of sorts for a long time. This is similar to the situation I am now in, in another republic.

In 1991 the Georgian government declared Georgian to be the only administrative language but Ossetian leaders demanded that Ossetian be the language of their state. There have been simmering conflict and sanctions by Georgia itself, e.g. withholding power supplies and with Russia at odds with Georgia as an entity, it’s logical that they’d support South Ossetia, which then puts the whole question on the world agenda.

To try to create a separate state would require population transfer and dislocation, which is in the interests of certain parties in the background and creates a new, highly unstable region of probable bloodletting of the Kosovo type. Keep your eye on this one.

[norway] home of the paperclip and the mobile phone

A Norwegian Viking, Leif Ericson discovered America in about A.D. 1 000 (almost 500 years before Columbus A.D. 1492), Roald Amundsen was the first man on the South Pole (year 1911), it has the fourth largest shipping fleet in the world (after Greece, Japan and the USA) and one of the largest fishing industries (after Japan), it generates the most per capita hydroelectric power in the world, it has the second richest people in the world (only Swiss people are richer), the second highest number of mobile telephones in the world, 45% (only Finland lies higher with 48%), they invented the famous paperclip and skis. They're also very good at the Eurovision Song Contest. Norway.

[quiz] how english are you

Rubbish quiz in my opinion but take it anyway. L’Ombre came out at 92% and I managed only 82% - think I had two wrong, saying the milk went in first and that the Beatles were a band.

[colour schemes] the culture of yellow

Yellow is hope, happiness, sunshine, cowardice, deceit, high visibility, cheerfulness, support, remembrance, danger, being laid back, relaxation and irresponsible reporting.

For years, yellow ribbons were for women who waited for their men to come home from war. Yellow is for mourning in Egypt and actors of the Middle Ages wore yellow to signify the dead. Yet yellow has also represented courage (Japan), merchants (India), and peace.

Near the end of the 18th century, yellow was mental illness, insanity and depravity. In China, yellow is associated with prosperity and pornography. In ancient China, yellow was the Centre and Earth. In many countries, yellow symbolizes liberalism.

Other words associated with it: Lemon, yellow ocher, golden, saffron, cream, topaz. Read also about red, blue, green and brown.