[the eu] ravening monster, paper tiger or both

Now, as you’d imagine, I’m right behind Russia in its dispute with Belarus and the upstart Gruzia and yet … and yet … an oil and gas pipeline is a linear affair and if you’re downstream from a fuel dispute, things start to get nasty.

Such as poor western Europe, dependent on Russian supplies. Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced plans for a new energy policy that would take shape under Germany's six-month presidency of the EU.

The two leaders voiced strong criticism of President Vladimir Putin over Russia's decision to halt oil supplies through the Druzhba (friendship) pipeline without warning. 'It is unacceptable when there are no consultations over such actions,' said Merkel, adding: 'This destroys trust again and again.' To avoid a repetition, Merkel said it was necessary to strengthen the strategic partnership with Russia, a major European energy supplier which delivers 20 per cent of Germany's crude oil and 30 per cent of its natural gas.

This is one of the spinoffs of being dependent on the EU. On Wednesday, the EU Commission is due to unveil its long-awaited energy plan, outlining moves to increase competition among energy providers and improve environmental protection. Energy plan, smenergy plan – whatever the eurocrats dream up, at unbelievable expense to the rest of Europe, it makes not one scrap of difference to Russia, whom they froze out of Europe.

The EU is an abomination, a ravening monster, excreting wastage and hell-bent on working against the best interests of all people suffering under its sphere of influence and now that Britain is hell-bent on breaking into little pieces because of sectarian differences, the EU must be licking its slavering chops, waiting to snap up the remaining pieces and gobble them up. Their traitorous double-agent, Blair, is fast becoming an irrelevance in this respect.

[big apple] something smell a bit off to you

Admittedly I’m a bit late for this one but all the same – this recent pong from New York to New Jersey - Charles Sturcken, a spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Protection, said the odor could have been caused by mercaptan, the chemical added to normally odorless natural gas to make it easily detectable, but he added, "Nothing has been confirmed."

In 2005, a mysterious "maple syrup" scent blanketed Manhattan twice in a matter of weeks. Last August, seven people got sick after an odor of gas was reported in Queens and Staten Island. The source of that odor is still unknown. This situation is no different this time. The only difference, perhaps, is that city officials reportedly are blaming the stench on New Jersey this time.

Anyone heading for New York?

[queen kate] wouldn’t it be nice

Queen Kate escaping the paparazzi outside her apartment Tuesday, her 25th birthday. How would you like a camera shoved in your face?

# Network ITN hired a lip reader to decipher her every utterance.

# Welcome to the world of the woman who might someday be Queen Katherine.

# Speculation that Will would pop the question was so intense that by 6 a.m. more than 50 photographers and camera crews were waiting outside her apartment in Chelsea.

# Woolworths is so confident that it’s designing commemorative royal wedding tchotchkes, from mugs to mouse pads. Store officials said the company "missed out" in 2005 during the two-month engagement of William's father and Camilla Parker Bowles - a multimillion-dollar slip that won't be repeated.

# Kate is a middle-class descendant of a coal-mining family, with an art history degree and conservative hemlines. She is as English as thickly buttered toast, and roughly as controversial.

# She doesn't smoke; she blushes. She shops with her mom (a former flight attendant who has an online business selling children's party supplies).

Can’t believe nourishing obscurity has jumped onto this bandwagon? This blog has a tacky history of doing this – the most recent was Princess Mary of Denmark and on this computer are countless photos of same. This blog, in other words, is totally and unashamedly unreconstructed.

Yo, Queen Kate!

[update] higham's [sort of] back

1] The less said about the op the better. It got messy, apparently but I wasn't to know that because I was out of it. Had to [sort of] laugh though. The doc took one look at the mouth, muttered: "uzhas" [Russian for horror] and demanded to know who had done the last job on it [a state clinic doctor]. After picking all the mangled metal out, he got to work. So, last night was not one of the best but the drugs are working well today and all the other herbs and grasses meant to cut the complications. In fact he did such a good job that my girl has decided to transfer her custom there, expensive though it is. Wonder how Morag's similar situation is going.

2] Back to normal blogging later today, so expect to be annoyed by my comments later. It'll take two days to get through the roll.

3] Had to smile at the 'no comments' on the Lady Di post. Friends politely refraining from taking me apart and the rest not reading the blog currently. I knew it was a controversial opinion. Sorry.

So, back on track and best of luck to you all today too. Meet up with you later, OK.

[lady di] that’s all very well but …

Just one post before Wednesday.

I like to get American news from the Brits and vice-versa because the perspective is often a little different. As for the Di Inquest. Bloomsberg states:

The inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, won't be heard by a jury drawn from members of Britain's royal household, after a coroner today declined to invoke historic rules. The inquiry, which is standard in the U.K. for unnatural deaths, will publicly scrutinize how the princess and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed died, in a final bid to quell the conspiracy theories and speculation that has swirled since the 1997 car crash in Paris that claimed both of their lives.

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, the retired judge who is presiding over the inquest, agreed with lawyers representing both Queen Elizabeth II and Fayed's father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, that a royal jury would have created the perception of a biased review. ``Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done,'' John Nutting QC, representing Queen Elizabeth, told the High Court in London.

Oh really? And how does Elizabeth Butler-Sloss constitute unbiased? Have you read up on her? Now to the words ‘in a final bid to quell’. Not ‘in a final bid to get at the truth and not sweep anything under the carpet’. No sir. This inquest will do nothing because it is biased in its head, in its aim and has absolutely no intention of asking the key questions which just will not go away.

I’m at one with the bloggers who cry: ‘Just let the lady rest in peace.’ There’s nothing anyone would like more. Unfortunately, when it is, as Bloomsberg called it, a case of ‘unnatural deaths’, then there IS no peace on either side of the River Styx until the truth finally comes out. This is why Hamlet’s father returned and this is why inquiry after inquiry will go on and on because the truth is just not being told e.g. the goings on in the room at the hospital where she was eventually taken.

[greetings] plan to be blogging wednesday

I’d like to thank those who’ve posted comments and I’ll answer them individually when this thing is over. I’ll check the e-mail and then give it away for the evening.

Strange as it may seem, they do use anaesthetic in the pay clinics, where I go tomorrow at 16:00, my time. Trouble with the pay clinics is they’re totally overrun with people wanting dentistry and so I’ve had to wait, using a combination of sleep and Pentalgin [like aspirin] to keep the pain down. Like Morag, that’s going to happen tomorrow as well.

So this post is just to let people know I plan to be back at the keyboard Wednesday morning and regrettably, Blogfocus Tuesday must now become Blogfocus Saturday. Hope you’re well, posting heaps and raking in the shekels in your day job. I'll get back to you.

James