（吉打‧亞羅士打）宰豬場尚未建，就已引起糾紛？
一名甘榜支那的泰裔少婦朱麗（38歲）聲稱，今日（週日，7月5日）下午外出購買魚蝦時，回途中遭一名穿著斯文，年約20歲的年輕人攻擊，從對方言談舉止疑是不滿居民同意建宰豬場事件。
她經過時，這名男子向她撥沙，也試圖踢翻她的電單車。
她停下電單車與對方理論時，還遭對方一拳打中手臂，以及踢中腹部。
擔心安危反對建宰豬場
朱麗說，年輕人聲稱“要吃豬肉，卻不懂得尊重我們回教徒”；朱麗以不清楚內情，要求對方放過她，對方才趕她走。
驚魂未定的朱麗，過後向古布班章警局報案。
經過一事，朱麗也對宰豬場持反對意見，尤其是其孩子每天都會經過事發地點上學。
另一方面，泰裔居民兼巫統支部主席依丁佐（64歲）說，當地泰裔及回教徒相安無事，不希望宰豬場課題令大家產生分歧或爭執。
（柔佛‧麻坡）馬華署理總會長拿督斯里蔡細歷勸請華裔，不要對回教黨強調跨種族政策的說法過於樂觀。
他在新聞發佈會上說，308大選後許多華裔看好回教黨，認為回教黨是跨種族的政黨，以回教為主，不談種族，可是時間已經證明這個觀念是錯誤的，從他們的行動及最近的作風說明了他們是講一套做一套。
他指吉打就是最好的例子，最近回教黨與行動黨鬧分裂、屠豬場及神廟被拆事件等，更重要的是當首相宣佈開放政策，包括取消30%固打制時，回教黨是第一個持反對立場的。
蔡細歷表示，一名回教黨高層領袖曾向他透露，回教黨突然重視馬來政治議程，原因是他們發現跨種族政策，將逐步失去馬來族群的支持，因此除了宗教，回教黨也要談馬來議程，以贏回馬來人的支持，畢竟馬來族群是他們的基本票，而華裔選票是無法穩定守住的。
“一旦回教黨強調種族與回教，對華裔將更不利；我們要看到的馬來領袖是中庸的、接受這裡是多元種族的國家，也接受這個國家應朝向更加開明與開放的理念來加強競爭條件。”
（吉隆坡）郵政局在7月推出的集體保險，將解決市價1萬令吉以下的舊車和德士所面對的投保問題。
財政部副部長拿督阿旺阿迪說，由政府和所有保險公司聯合推出的配套，可讓舊車車主更新路稅時，購買保險。
他說，新措施讓郊區民眾，不須通過保險經紀或保險公司更新保險，也避免了車主所面對的繁文縟節。
郵局若拒民眾投保可投報
“如果郵政局拒絕民眾的投保，他們可向國家銀行投報。”
他透露，一旦發現保險公司犯錯，這間公司將被列入黑名單。
保險公司認為，讓舊車投保面對一定的風險，估計目前馬路上有480萬輛車齡10年或以上，及車價少過1萬令吉的車子，其中包括90萬輛普騰和30萬輛是第二國產車。
研究修改法令限制賠額
另一方面，交通部副部長拿督阿都拉欣透露，政府正研究修改1987年交通法令，以限制車禍賠償金額。
“目前賠償金並沒有限制，法庭可自由制定車禍受害者的賠償金額。”
（泰國‧曼谷）泰國警方透露，泰國外交部長卡實與其他數十名“黃衫軍”領袖，就去年佔據曼谷國際機場癱瘓航空交通一事面對提控。
一名警官上週六晚間表示，警方已經向36名人民民主聯盟（PAD）的主要成員發出傳票，包括外交部長兼人民民主聯盟前成員卡實。
他說，警方經已向“參與佔據廊曼機場及素旺那普國際機場的相關人士發出傳票，他們被指控非法集會、入侵、違反航空法及涉及恐怖主義活動”。
卡實只是被控於去年11月至12月期間佔據素旺那普國際機場，有關事件造成數以萬計的旅客滯留，並導致重大的經濟損失。
另外35人則被控涉及參與素旺那普國際機場事件或在同一時間也佔據廊曼機場。
其他接獲警方傳票的包括媒體大亨兼人民民主聯盟創辦人林明達及由“黃衫軍”組成的“新政治黨”領袖宋沙克。
“新政治黨”的秘書長蘇里亞塞也接獲傳票。警方表示他們將會在7月16日接受盤問。
（新加坡）獅城一個廣受學生歡迎的職業介紹網站，竟出現上百張露骨色情照片，令家長擔心。
許多學生在學校假期找兼職工賺外快，新加坡有一個專門供學生尋找兼職工作的網站，近日突然出現色情照片。
家長鄧女士（44歲，文員）就是通過外甥介紹，想到這網站幫15歲女兒找工作，卻赫然發現裡頭竟有男歡女愛的猥褻照片，非常的不堪入目。
“我今年才開始瀏覽這個網站為女兒找工作，一向來都不錯，怎知這兩個月來，在‘文職／數據輸入（data entry）´一欄顯示的工作中，竟然出現一些以粗言穢語開頭的標題，旁邊更注明有錄象。只要一點擊，幾十張男女交歡的露骨照就會跳出來。”
很多學生瀏覽網站
鄧女士擔心，很多學生瀏覽這個網站，色情照片入侵，會對青少年造成不良影響。
記者根據鄧女士提供的網站上網瀏覽，發現確實有色情照在這網站上流傳，而且若點擊任何一張照片，還會彈出新窗口，問網民是否超過18歲，只要一點擊“是”，另外幾十張不雅照就會直接涌現出來，根本不需要輸入任何密碼。
（新加坡）一對中年男女被指過去1個月，每天都在露天停車場搞車震，作風大膽，叫居民吃不消。
這起事件發生在舊機場路一帶、惹蘭都亞和惹蘭沙都的露天停車場。
住在舊機場路第93座組屋的居民張金閣（39歲，舊貨商）說，這對男女過去1個月來，每天晚上都開著車子到這輛停車場幽會，還肆無忌憚的在車內翻雲覆雨。
“他們倆各自駕著自己的汽車前來，然後就進入男方的車內。他們熱情的擁抱和接吻，過後還把身上的衣服脫個精光。他們在車內還進行一些非常猥褻的行為。”
居民報警卻捉不到人
張先生透露，他家中有望遠鏡，他通過望遠鏡把這對男女的大膽行徑看得一清二楚。他也曾多次報警，可是，每次警察抵達之前，這對男女已經轉移陣地，所以，警方一直找不到他們。
週六（7月4日）凌晨3點多，張先生回家途中，再次看到這對男女在停車場幽會，立即通知記者下去採訪。
記者趕到現場後發現，那對男女雙雙在車後座親熱，可以看到兩個人的頭靠得很近，其中一人甚至雙腳朝天。
過了一陣，這名男子才穿上衣服、打開車門抽煙。
記者過後上前詢問他們在干甚麼，男子說，他們只是在車裡聊天。
針對有居民看到他們多次出現停車場內翻雲覆雨的事，男子否認，並說那是他們第一次到那裡。
根據雜項（公共秩序和騷擾）法令的第184章第27A節，裸露者若罪名成立，將可能被判罰款2000元，或監禁不超過3個月，或兩者兼施。
（台灣‧台北）台灣總統馬英九斷然拒絕中國提出開放“海峽中線”的建議，聲稱這關係到台灣的安全。
針對中國國台辦主任王毅提出開放“海峽中線”，正在巴拿馬訪問的馬英九週五（7月3日）召開新聞發佈會，以“安全”理由明確號表態拒絕。
他說：“我方非常明確告知，海峽中線是我空軍演訓場所，目前實在沒有辦法開放，不是我方不願意或故意刁難，這項立場已多次向對岸說明。”
涉兩岸事務的高層表示，中國空域十分之九都保留給空軍演訓，但台灣只有海峽中線這一塊，不管對方有沒有陰謀，“我們死都不讓，這個立場非常硬。”
簽和平協議時機未到
對於王毅還呼吁兩岸簽訂和平協議或軍事互信機制，馬英九表示，有關和平協議的議題，可以也應該做，但時機還沒到。
他指出，2005年國民黨榮譽主席連戰訪問中國時，就曾和國家主席胡錦濤討論過兩岸軍事互信機制這個話題，但目前雙方還有更迫切的經濟等議題需要協商。
他指出，台灣下階段希望和對岸協商兩岸經濟合作架構協議（ECFA），還有其他更迫切的議題也要在四次江陳會討論，因此不是兩岸互信機制不重要，而是與其他議題相比，迫切性沒有這麼高。
王毅週五晚以書面傳真指出，中方已多次提出開闢一條橫穿台灣海峽、直通兩岸的中部航路，以緩解目前北部航線高度飽和的壓力，從而進一步方便兩岸民眾往來，增進兩岸同胞福祉。
但他表示，兩岸目前對開闢海峽空中中部航線的問題有不同意見，中國方面願意通過兩會渠道繼續就此進行協商。
（澳洲‧墨爾本）澳洲副總理吉拉德週日（7月5日）表示，澳洲海軍正在調查有關男兵設立一個賭圈，向成功與女兵發生性行為的男兵發出獎賞。
吉拉德證實，海軍已經就“成功號”補給艦上發生的醜聞展開調查，並表示擔憂這事件將讓打算從軍的女性止步。
她向第十電視台說：“如果她們選擇從軍為職業，我們不希望此事阻止她們在武裝部隊有良好事業前景。”
她指出，這些指控必須受到徹底調查。
第7電視台報導，“成功號”的男兵流傳一本稱為“總帳本”的記事本，為每位女兵下注。
報導稱，女性軍官和女同性戀的價位最高，而在不尋常地點，如桌球桌上發生性關係將可獲得豐厚獎金。
報導指出，“成功號”今年5月訪問新加坡期間曝露了這個打賭醜聞，涉嫌的海兵被召回澳洲進行查問。
國防部在致第7電視台的聲明中說：“5月間被召回澳洲的‘成功號’海員事件還在調查中，任何指控的真偽還有待證實。”
（中國‧北京）中國廣西、江西、湖南、貴州及廣東等長江南部數省（自治區），近日連續遭到暴雨襲擊，引發洪澇災害，已有逾千萬人受災，至少近20人死亡，數十人失蹤。
各地旅遊業也大受影響，其中灕江已封航，桂林等知名景區也因洪水而停業。
廣西的災情進一步加劇，5市28個縣共超過145萬人受災。卡馬水庫一帶持續大雨，水位急劇上漲，水壩局部崩塌。
針對華南多省的暴雨洪水災害，國家民政部已對災情較重的湖南、湖北、江西、廣西等4個省啟動了四級應急響應。重災區廣西更已提昇至二級。
卡馬水庫壩底擊穿
中國之聲電台週日（7月5日）早上報導，由於連日暴雨，廣西羅城的卡馬水庫水量驟然增加，導致水庫壩底被洪水擊穿。水庫下游羅城縣和宜州市超過1萬5000人要安全轉移。
卡馬水庫設計庫容930萬立方米，目前庫容水量已經達到725萬立方米。記者在現場看到，水已經基本漫過了水壩。
廣西羅城的卡馬水庫，被洪水沖破水壩底部，出現水湧。工作人員在水壩搶險，又在水庫側邊開挖一條闊十多米的排水道泄洪；一段10米長的水壩有碎石崩塌。卡馬水庫在連日暴雨下近八成滿，不排除有垮壩危險。
廣西經濟損失逾3億
專家指，目前正設法加大水庫排洪，儘量降低水庫存水；但亦只能夠減低潰壩的可能，未能排除危險。桂江、融江和柳江的洪水都超過警戒線。柳州水位凌晨升至連日來最高，超過警戒水位7米。
當地動員1萬人抗洪救災，防洪堤上每隔100米派一名人員駐守，廣西直接經濟損失接近7億元人民幣。
看崑曲《牡丹亭》中途離場
溫家寶督促搶險救災
廣西卡馬水庫潰壩險情，令到週五（3日）晚上正在北京國家大劇院內觀賞崑曲《牡丹亭》的總理溫家寶臨時離場，他親自上網查看廣西水災災情，並致電廣西官員，敦促做好搶險工作。
據消息人士透露，溫家寶當晚到國家大劇院欣賞白先勇改編的青春版崑曲《牡丹亭》。至9時中場休 息時，溫家寶在數名隨從的陪同下穿過大廳離開，在下半場演出開始後，沒有再出現，直至終場他原本所坐的第4排多個位置都空著。相信是溫家寶得知廣西水災嚴 重及卡馬水庫出現險情的消息後，臨時取消觀看演出。
據廣西《河池網》週六報導，“3日晚，溫家寶在互聯網上看到卡馬水庫出現險情的新聞，專門打電話向廣西自治區主席瞭解情況，要求全力做好搶險工作，確保群眾生命安全。”上週六凌晨4時，馬飆趕到羅城縣，與先期抵達的自治區其他官員緊急開會，指揮搶險。
貨品載客起價數十倍
商店船家搶發“大水財”
從週五晚上開始，廣西融水縣城區被淹地段開始斷電，隨後，自來水供應中斷。約5萬人在漆黑中度 過難眠之夜，這些居民只能依靠災前囤積的水和糧食度日。商店裡的蠟燭開始脫銷，記者在一家商店看到，不少居民前來購買，價格由原來的每支0.3元（人民 幣，下同）漲到1元仍然供不應求。
青菜甚至不稱斤賣，一把5元，價格是平時的20倍。
洪災讓整個縣城宛如江南水鄉，大街上儼然成了繁華的碼頭，無數船家爭先恐後搶發“大水財”。被洪水圍困的居民出行全憑小舟，於是這些有船的人家就做起載客生意。乘一艘小船到相隔30米的一個街區，船家就要收取10元的費用。
南雨北熱
天氣極端
華南地區連日出現今年入汛以來範圍最廣、強度最大的豪雨，已造成部份災情，但北方大部份地區熱浪仍舊持續，氣溫保持在攝氏35度左右，部份地區達37度以上。
新華社報導，廣西壯族自治區從7月1日開始的強降雨自南向北逐漸擴大，多條河流超過警戒水位，加之部份地區大雨仍將持續，防洪形勢嚴峻。
廣西氣象部門預報，週六晚上至週日（7月5日），南寧、崇左、欽州、防城港、貴港、梧州、玉林等市將有中到大雨，局部有暴雨或大暴雨；其他地區有小到中雨，局部暴雨。
湖南降雨量達90毫米
湖南省從6月28日以來，自北向南發生今年入汛以來最強的豪雨，導致澧水幹支流水位大幅上漲，湘江水位1天就上漲5.45米，許多地方山洪爆發，過去1週以來，湖南全省平均降雨量達90毫米。
江西省南部同樣面臨大豪雨，氣象台先後2次發佈暴雨紅色預警，也是江西歷史上首次發出的暴雨最高級別預警。
在南方暴雨如注的同時，北方大部地區仍持續高溫。北京市氣象台週五發佈今夏第3個高溫橙色預警，創下自2004年北京氣象災害預警發佈史紀錄。
水高89.64米20年一遇
洪峰順利通過柳州
與此同時，廣西柳州市防汛抗旱指揮部指出，柳江柳州水文站於週日（7月5日）凌晨2時迎來連日來最高89.64米的水位洪峰，超過警戒水位。隨後水位平穩下降，至此，這次20年一遇的洪峰順利通過柳州。
另外，福建省連日遭遇暴雨，目前全省18萬多人受災，5人死亡，2人失蹤，2萬2200人被迫疏散。
中國廣播電台報導，7月1至3日間，福建省中部、北部地區普遍降暴雨到大暴雨，局部地區降特大暴雨。
新華社報導，截至週日凌晨5時統計，福建省三明、泉州、南平、龍岩等4個設區市，共有420間房屋倒塌。
報導指出，暴雨損壞水閘、機電泵站、水電站、水文測站60座，衝毀塘壩94座，造成直接經濟總損失2億4200萬人民幣。
（台灣‧台北）到訪中美洲的台灣總統馬英九遭尼加拉瓜總統奧爾特加第5度放鴿子，據傳馬英九很不高興。
台灣《中國時報》週日（7月5日）報導，奧爾特加在週六（7月4日）2度爽約，尤其缺席歡迎馬英九的宴會，非常失禮，台方數度要求說明道歉，否則大使吳進木將辭職負責；報導還指，奧爾特加若再缺席微小企業產品展示中心奠基典禮，將停止援助計劃。
親自登門道歉
面對台方強硬態度，奧爾特加週日上午親自登門道歉，還再度親自開車載馬英九去參加僑宴，還親自歡送馬英九及訪問團上機。
奧爾特加表示，行程一再變動是因為洪都拉斯和尼國局勢緊張，週五晚上洪國被罷黜總統塞拉亞再度到尼國，兩人討論一夜都沒有睡覺。
對此，馬英九一方面表示諒解，也接受奧蒂嘉道歉的誠意。
待遇一日數變
馬英九抵達尼加拉瓜後，行程待遇一日數變，先是原定接機的奧爾特加不見蹤影，下午奧爾特加又親自開車載馬英九參觀，並澄清雙方關係良好，到晚上，奧爾特加又再度失蹤，僅由副總統代打主持歡迎宴。
馬英九上次訪問中美洲時，曾預訂與奧爾特加會晤，但他3次爽約，令台灣媒體揣測雙方關係將會生變。
但台灣外交高層人士週日強調，此事不會影響雙邊關係，絕無外界傳聞有因此召回大使的規劃。
（英國‧倫敦）英國“新經濟基金”最新公佈《幸福星球報告》（Happy Planet Index），拉美地區是世界上最幸福的地區，其中哥斯達黎加是全球最幸福的國家，大馬排名第33。
報告對全世界143個國家和地區進行了“幸福星球指數”排名，並以預期壽命、公民對生活的滿意度以及獲得幸福所留下的污染痕跡為衡量標準。
這份“HPI指數：為甚麼優質生活不必危害地球”的報告發現，在全球143個受評比的國家中，10大得分最高分的國家排名中，9個屬於拉美地區，其中斯達黎加高居榜首，人民對生活的滿意度為8.5分（滿分10分）；撒哈拉沙漠以南國家最糟，津巴布韋在世界各國中墊底。
在東南亞國家之中，越南排在第5名，是前十名內唯一不屬於拉美地區的國家，菲律賓排第14位，印尼居第16位，大馬則排在第33位。鄰國泰國排在第41位，新加坡則居第49位。排在第20位的中國也比歐美多個國家“幸福”。
（印尼‧雅加達）據印尼《國際日報》報導，總統候選人卡拉早前在雅加達太陽城與印尼華人社會對話節目中強調，印尼民族生活中有不同的種族，應該成為印尼國家進步的社會力量，不同種族是需要的，但不要把它區分開來。
他說，我們當中有爪哇族，布吉斯族，華族等，假如為此爭論將毫無結果，應該把它成為一種力量。把不同政黨種族化成力量，需要有魄力，果斷和自決的領導人。
卡拉說，所有公民都有同等的權益，包括成為領導人的權益，不管他是軍人，警察，政治家，商人，都可成為領導人，法令沒有禁止的。
印尼正副總統直選競選活動週六進入尾聲，3組候選人作最後衝刺，以期爭取更多選票，尋求連任的總統蘇西洛在雅加達舉行的一個造勢大會上演講，呼吁民眾再度支持他，繼續進行未完成的改革。
另一方面，在野黨鬥爭派民主黨候選人梅加瓦蒂，當天再度在中爪哇造勢，她向數以萬計支持者指出，如果要改善生計以及在經濟上自力更生，必須投她和副座普拉博沃的票。
The other day I read a book review titled “Dr. Strangelove” in the conservative catholic magazine “Culture Wars”. James G. Bruen, Jr. wrote the review on the book
“Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency” by Barton Gellman.
The whole book seems to be a chilling read, describing the ruthlessness and utter amorality of the former Vice-President and those surrounding him.
One part of the review, however, I found especially note-worthy.
Bruen cites Gellman:
The world’s last remaining superpower, Cheney believed, must not stand helpless against the dangers of a state-terror nexus. A defensive crouch was not an option. The United States could not defeat every potential foe, unseat every hostile government, but tackling one would send a powerful message to the rest.
Notes Gellman, “The question was where to begin.”
Iran? Iraq? Libya? Syria? Sudan? North Korea? Cuba? Pakistan? Saudi Arabia? Military and political interests militated against attacking many of these countries. Cheney was looking for an exemplar, not a formidable foe:
Cheney, in the end, did not press for war with Iraq because Saddam really topped the list of ‘grave and gathering threats,’ as he led the Bush administration in asserting. The United States would take him down because it could. The war would not preempt immediate danger, a more traditional ground for war, but prevent a danger that might emerge later – from Baghdad or anywhere else in the viewing audience.
To this Bruen comments:
Use any means at our disposal, basically. The United States would take him down because it could. What could be more cold-blooded than launching a war with its attendant death, destruction, misery, and suffering, merely because you can and you want to send a message to other countries?
Well, how about this? At Christmastime in 2003, the government was on edge, fearing “a spectacular attack around New Year’s Eve,” possibly nuclear terrorism. Cheney decided, with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s support, to inform Iran that the United States would respond to such an attack by using nuclear weapons against Iran, even though, Gellman notes, there was “little or no indication that the plot, if plot there was, had support from the Islamic republic.”
Now this is really interesting: The American Vice President threatens Iran with nuclear annihilation already in December 2003 to supposedly prevent a nuclear plot against the US.
Let´s recapitulate: In 2oo3 the United States and their allies had just militarily overthrown Saddam Hussein, Iran´s arch foe. They were in the process of empowering the religious Shiite fractions from among the Iraqi people at the expense of the Sunnis. Iran had good relationships to all the Shiite parties. Empowering the Shiites in Iraq would encrease Iran´s influence in the region. The confrontation about Iran´s nuclear energy program was less severe, since at the time the more western-friendly “reformer” government was at the helm. Ahmadinejad was still only the mayor of Tehran and had not made that famous misquoted quote about the non-existing “map” or the “page of time”.
Not only was there no proof that Iran was behind any potential plot to attack the United States, there was not even the slightest motive for Iran to hedge such a plot. Neither would there have been a motive for any Shiite group Iran could possibly have influence on.
So what was really going on?
We know Cheney is a Neocon, a co-signer of the PNAC paper, which calls for endless war starting in the Middle East. Iran was on the list of countries to be attacked even then.
The Cheney administration wanted to make absolutely sure that there would be no normal relationship between Iran and the western world. No matter, who ruled the country, Israel thought Iran was too big for Israel´s comfort and so did the Neocons. Iran needed to be cut into conveniently smaller pieces along ethnic or sectarian lines by any means possible, just what the post-invasion civil-war was supposed to do to Iraq. Iranians were threatened so they would fear and hate America and the west, and in turn the west would hate and fear Iran.
An even darker possibility might have been, that the same people who planned the attacks of 9/11, (and we know by now with absolute certainty, that they weren´t Muslims of any denomination), were indeed contemplating a new attack, possibly with nuclear material.
This “nuclear 9/11″ would have given Cheney and his friends the pretext to start World War III for real, and the pretext for using nuclear bombs to destroy Iran and other Islamic countries, since there is no way that a large land-invasion would be successful.
The United States and it´s allies just do not have the man-power for full-scale invasions and occupations of large countries. They can destroy a country, but they can´t conquer it – unless they destroy it first.
Destruction of everything they cannot easily control, seems what our western elites are hell-bend to do.
The Cheney administration´s rule is over. But has it´s destructive mindset disappeared?
James Bruen doesn´t think so. Citing Gellman, the books author, who actually endorses Cheney insanity and shares his paranoia,
If Nexus comes, loosing a plague or igniting a mushroom cloud, posterity may decide we should have stayed the vice president’s course.
Bruen comments:
A mushroom cloud, though, was not Cheney’s worst nightmare: we should be thankful that a mushroom cloud did not appear over Iran at Cheney’s instigation. But the publicly expressed willingness of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of State, to “totally obliterate” Iran suggests that the danger did not end with the recent change of administrations.
You can tell a lot about a news operation by how it responds to a breaking news story on a holiday or weekend when the A-Team is away.
I first wrote that in November about cable coverage of the Mumbai attacks and the sorry performance by MSNBC, which mainly stuck to its canned lineup of prison documentaries while CNN and Fox scrambled to cover the story live.
Well, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin dropped a political bombshell late Friday afternoon in announcing that she would resign only two and a half years into her term, and it was fascinating to watch the 24/7 channels already in holiday mode chase the story.
MSNBC responded this time. Even though the program guide had a prison documentary slated for the 4 p.m. hour, MSNBC had Alex Witt at the anchor desk and such analysts as A.M. Stoddard, of The Hill, dissecting Palin's resignation.
MSNBC was using NBC News resources as well. An on-screen headline said: "Sources tell Andrea Mitchell Palin is out of politics for good." We'll check back in on that one in few weeks to see whether it turns out to be true or not. But it sure beats a Lockup doc.
By the 5 p.m. hour, MSNBC had NBC backup White House correspondent Mike Viqueira on, and he provided some of the finest analysis anywhere on TV up to that point. He was one of the first to deconstruct Palin's resignation speech and point our how "meandering" it was.
The speech was more than meandering -- it was disjointed, inconsistent and utterly unconvincing in her explanation as to why she was resigning. Good job by Viqueira in nailing that on the run.
Fox was impressive in quickly getting up to speed and bringing in a range of diverse and savvy voices. And, again, maybe it was mostly the result of the usual A-Team of conservative analysts being unreachable right away on this holiday weekend, but you have to acknowledge the excellent analysis offered on Fox by Lanny Davis, a former White House aide to Bill Clinton, and University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato.
The latter was brilliant in explaining how Palin's abrupt mid-term departure would make her look like Ross Perot, the 1990's independent candidate whose presidential aspirations were in part dashed by opponents who labeled him as "erratic, unstable and likely to resign in mid-term" -- just like Palin did Friday.
I had just left CNN's Washington bureau about 3 p.m. Friday after taping a segment for Sunday's Reliable Sources, so I had a pretty good on-scene sense of how much the news operation was into holiday weekend mode. Suzanne Malveaux, who had been subbing all week for Wolf Blitzer, was at the helm of The Situation Room Friday.
And while it was clear CNN couldn't field its usual on-air team of top political analysts, it showed some real depth putting CNN political editor Mark Preston on the set with Malveaux and bringing in political producer Peter Hamby by remote. The presence of those two seemed to really stabilize and center the coverage.
They were followed by a range of voices, including that of conservative strategist Ed Rollins, who offered a withering and informed analysis of Palin's decision to resign on a dime.
Sir Bernard Lovell, the astronomer, was among the team listening to transmissions coming from the area of space and began tracking the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Luna 15, which was trying to collect samples of lunar soil and rock and then return to Earth before the US mission.
The recordings from Jodrell's Lovell radio telescope, which were hidden in archives until researchers found them, show the Russian craft orbited the Moon and crash-landed onto its surface at 15:50 on July 21 – just a few hours before the Americans lifted off.
In the newly released recordings, which were made over three days, Sir Bernard, the founder of Jodrell Bank, can be heard narrating events with conversation from the Apollo 11 astronauts in the background.
Sir Bernard notes a change in the orbit of Luna 15 to take it closer to the US landing site and later reports a rumour from a "well-informed source in Moscow" that the craft is about to land.
People in Jodrell's control room can then be heard shouting "it's landing" and "it's going down much too fast" as they track Luna 15's final moments before it crashes.
A voice is later heard saying: "I say, this has really been drama of the highest order."
The recordings have been released by The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landings.
BT has notified that a proposed monthly levy of 50p on phone landlines will not be sufficient to rollout fibre optic broadband across the entire UK.
Addressing a meeting organised to discuss the next phase of fibre-optic rollout, Olivia Garfield, strategy and portfolio group director for BT, asserted that the tax, proposed in the Digital Britain Report published last month, would perhaps not be enough to deliver fibre optic network throughout the country.
Incidentally, the proposed levy of 50p-per-month on phone landlines is expected to generate as much as £1.5 billion to help deliver fibre broadband connection to the “final third” of the UK.
Asserting on the insufficiency of landlines levy in meeting the target, Garfield said, “I can see a way to get to 80 to 85 per cent with that kind of money, but we will struggle to get to 100 per cent – in fact it would be impossible to get to 100 per cent”.
Furthermore, responding to a query relating to service level agreements (SLAs), David Campbell, Openreach MD for next-generation access, said that the company guarantees 15Mbit/s, and would take essential steps if the service delivered falls below the aforesaid levels.
Collective Bargaining: Yes, I know the strike by Toronto city workers means kids can't cool off in public pools, parents' best-laid summer child-care plans have gone awry and garbage bins are overflowing.
I feel your pain.
Just like most of you, I don't have 18 sick days a year to bank and cash out.
I also know that, without unions, many of us would be working in Dickensian conditions.
How would you like to be a miner without a union ensuring that the company meets safety standards? Or a sweatshop worker without proper ventilation, light or even fire escapes?
Collective bargaining floats all our boats. Without it, there would be no minimum wage, no paid sick leave, no health and pension benefits, no vacations. Do you honestly believe workers would still get a fair break if the bottom liners had nothing to keep them in check?
It's not workers who drove us into this economic mess. Workers weren't paying themselves multi-million-dollar bonuses for running companies into the ground. In fact, as executive salaries were rising, workers' wages were falling.
This isn't the time to get rid of unions. This is the time to be strengthening them.
Public Broadcasting: Fully funded public broadcasting is good for Canadian culture, which includes tens of thousands of workers who perform and produce programming.
It is also crucial in an era when private broadcasters fail to live up to their licence requirements to provide local news and other domestic content.
Even more important, as much as I adore the Internet, it is no substitute for rigorous Canadian eyes and ears on all levels of government – as well as on Canadian corporations, which might otherwise rip off consumers while raping the environment.
Forget CTV and Global. They are beyond redemption, as they demonstrated during their campaign to make viewers pay for what they are now getting free – i.e. cable fees for local over-the-air stations.
I'm talking CBC.
I'm talking excellent original and thought-provoking programming on CBC Radio's Ideas.
I'm also talking The National, which is now riddled with commercials and no longer has the weight or authority it used to have.
That's because, to sell ads, it has to produce eyeballs. That means more Michael Jackson, less Stephen Harper.
And that's not good for Canada.
Freedom of Expression: Excuse me but since when did the interests of Zionist lobby groups determine who or what Canadians can see and hear?
In recent months, to list just three examples, there have been concerted campaigns against the staging of Caryl Churchill's controversial Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza and an academic conference at York University where the so-called "one-state solution'' was to be discussed. We also saw British MP George Galloway be denied entry to the country for a speaking tour, just because he brought aid to bombed-out Gaza.
Now comes word that the only way the respected Al-Jazeera English news service, currently applying for TV distribution in Canada, can win the support of these same Jewish groups is to have them become consultants.
Journalistically speaking, that is hardly kosher.
U.S. War Resisters: Canada's proudest moment this century was when it refused to join George W. Bush in his attack on Iraq.
Yet we deport Americans who didn't sign up to brutalize civilians.
Those kids were hoodwinked, both by their government and its lapdog media, into thinking they were joining up to protect their country from terrorism and Saddam Hussein's non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
Rather than welcome them, we send them back over the border and to certain prison sentences.
That's not my Canada.
Is it yours?
Antonia Zerbisias is a Living section columnist. azerbisias@thestar.ca. She blogs at thestar.blogs.com.
Anyone who was ever fool enough to believe that Microsoft software was good enough to be used for a mission-critical operation had their face slapped this September when the LSE (London Stock Exchange)'s Windows-based TradElect system brought the market to a standstill for almost an entire day. While the LSE denied that the collapse was TradElect's fault, they also refused to explain what the problem really wa. Sources at the LSE tell me to this day that the problem was with TradElect.
Since then, the CEO that brought TradElect to the LSE, Clara Furse, has left without saying why she was leaving. Sources in the City-London's equivalent of New York City's Wall Street--tell me that TradElect's failure was the final straw for her tenure. The new CEO, Xavier Rolet, is reported to have immediately decided to put an end to TradElect.
TradElect runs on HP ProLiant servers running, in turn, Windows Server 2003. The TradElect software itself is a custom blend of C# and .NET programs, which was created by Microsoft and Accenture, the global consulting firm. On the back-end, it relied on Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Its goal was to maintain sub-ten millisecond response times, real-time system speeds, for stock trades.
It never, ever came close to achieving these performance goals. Worse still, the LSE's competition, such as its main rival Chi-X with its MarketPrizm trading platform software, was able to deliver that level of performance and in general it was running rings about TradElect. Three guesses what MarketPrizm runs on and the first two don't count. The answer is Linux.
It's not often that you see a major company dump its infrastructure software the way the LSE is about to do. But, then, it's not often you see enterprise software fail quite so badly and publicly as was the case with the LSE. I can only wonder how many other Windows enterprise software failures are kept hidden away within IT departments by companies unwilling to reveal just how foolish their decisions to rely on archaic, cranky Windows software solutions have proven to be.
I'm sure the LSE management couldn't tell Linux from Windows without a techie at hand. They can tell, however, when their business comes to a complete stop in front of the entire world.
So, might I suggest to the LSE that they consider Linux as the foundation for their next stock software infrastructure? After all, besides working well for Chi-X, Linux seems to be doing quite nicely for the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), etc., etc.
