The Hangzhou Hangout: A Preview

Hello!

I'm back from Hangzhou, China, where I ate a lot of pork:



Met a Shaolin monk on a Segway:



And met a fellow Malaysian superstar!



Oh, and I saw a lion in a tea garden!



More on the Hangzhou Hangout later!

The Coffee Party Movement Inspires Me

If you are anything like me then the recent lapse in any kind of reasonable or civil debate in our politics has you feeling frustrated and uncertain of what to do.

I fall back upon my classic standards of political partisanship and playing to the left-base, but in truth I am not satisfied by this in the least.

We don't need word-wars over labeling and branding, we need solutions for America that work.

We don't need more spin and more talking points, we need honest debate and informed decision making.

What Coffee Party USA offers is civility and a place for democracy to take place in a honest fashion.

I encourage any person who has formed an opinion of me that is one of "ultra-left" to understand I was most moved by U.S. Army veteran Alan P. Alborn's words that anything I have seen in a very long time. I understand far more about what motives are behind conservatives and libertarians than I let on and ultimately my views are no different from Alborn's views in regards to the matter of the free market or the size of government.

This is one element that was always part of what makes me "independent," and I am tired of being brought nearly to tears dealing with these Tea Party activists who seek to do nothing more than rewrite history and stop all rational debate while neglecting the more important issues of health care and insurance reform.

The Coffee Party Movement is the answer we have been looking for to send the message to Washington that we sent them there to get something done, not just play procedural games while Americans suffer.

We'll see if they even want me around, they have a statement about "no pundits and partisans and strategists" ... that's me three for three. But punditry can be declared, partisanship can be avoided and they will want my strategies if they ever give me a chance to share them ... so maybe I am reading too much into that statement.

I encourage you to join the Coffee Party, too!

We are a group of concerned Americans who want government "that responds to the needs of the majority of its citizens as expressed by our votes and by our voices; NOT corporate interests as expressed by misleading advertisements and campaign contributions."

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Official Websites:

http://www.coffeepartyUSA.org

http://facebook.com/coffeeparty

http://www.youtube.com/user/coffeepartyusa

(other "dupe" web-groups have already begun to spawn in response to the Coffee Party, only these websites are Coffee Party Movement)

The Truth Before The Summit

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) brought forth the truth to power that has been so lacking in the liberal progressive movement as of late.

The Bush Tax Cuts, COBRA, & S-CHIP, were all passed by the same tactic these Republicans are now calling the "nuclear option."

Anyone watching the plays on health care reform knows that it is nothing less than the simple truth that the Republicans are wholly owned by the insurance companies.

And their partisan conservative media with them.

Clash Of The Wanderers - Betting News with Betfred

VERSUS

The Wanderers of Wolverhampton and Bolton share a rich history as founder members of the Football League, but their future as Premier League rivals hangs in the balance.

It will be one of those infamous relegation 'six-pointers' that fans and pundits always harp on about when Bolton Wanderers play host to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday. Both clubs are firmly embroiled in the relegation dogfight, separated by only one point with Bolton in 18th and Wolves sitting two places higher.

It was expected that Bolton would experience a resurgence under Owen Coyle, when he left Burnley to replace the sacked Gary Megson in early January.

But having won only one Premier Leaue game in eight since becoming manager of The Trotters, ironically against his former employers, the expected upsurge in performances and results has failed to materialize. Burnley themselves currently lie only one place below Bolton in 19th spot by virtue of an inferior goal difference.

I think the most disturbing statistic to consider is the fact that Bolton have only scored two goals in the last six Premiership games and have an equally terrible defensive record to boot.

Wolves too have struggled for goals, and along with Portsmouth have the league's most ineffective attack.
Wolves, however have looked more promising in recent weeks. Mick McCarthy's men having beaten Spurs and despite losing to Premier League leaders Chelsea, at times played some positive football.

Wolves captain Karl Henry puts their change in fortune down to the new formation that McCarthy has implemented. The side now plays 4-5-1 rather than 4-4-2, which was used earlier in the season, and the switch seems to be working.
Henry claims the new formation makes the side harder to break down and helps them create more chances as Kevin Doyle is a willing battler and runner up front.

Those who fancy Wolves to continue impressing can get 10/3 on them to win with Betfred.

"There has been a definite improvement in our performances since we have gone to the five-man midfield," the captain said.

"We know the way the gaffer wants to play that formation and, definitely away from home, you don't need to be charging forward and being too gung-ho."

McCarthy has been full of praise for the ex-Reading hitman Doyle, and Betfred's online betting odds make him 7/1 to score first in the game.

The gaffer said his Irish forward could trouble even the best Premier League defences, and could prove to be a bargain at £6.5 million, if he scores the goals that keep Wolves in the top flight.

Currently, the Premier League betting suggests Wolves are more likely to be relegated than Bolton, but a win for McCarthy's men on Saturday could change that significantly.

The Tip Of The Weekend:
Both teams will be desperate for a win but defensive lapses should ensure goals aplenty.
The tip of the weekend is a 2-2 draw @ 14/1 with Betfred - Saturday 27th February, kick-off 3pm.

By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

Mental Experimental Cocktails!

One day, while having lunch with Fireangel, I got an idea for a party where everyone sits around making experimental cocktails for each other, for no reason other than to get high really really fast. After all, I have a good variety of booze at home, and it's always fun to see what sort of cocktails I could make out of them.

Anyway, I had some rules for the 'Mental Experimental Cocktail Party". The rules were these:

1) You DO NOT make drinks for yourself.

2) Each drink MUST have AT LEAST one shot of liquor, and AT LEAST one mixer. No shooters or shots allowed.

3) If you finish your drink, you draw a name from a box at random to see who makes the next drink for you.

4) Anyone who is called out for having an empty glass or nursing a drink too long will have to take a shot from the Tray of Death (TM)

So, I had the party last Friday, and a grand total of nine people turned up; three of LL's friends, Vicky and Cris, and Deepak and his friend Junial. The rest chickened out; while FA had to go spoil her alcohol appetite the night before by getting drunk on whiskey and beer (a travesty which I have still not forgiven for until she buys me a siew yoke lunch), so she couldn't make it either. HMPH.

So, what was available? Here you go:

Alcohol:

1. Absolut Apeach
2. Absolut Mandarin
3. Absolut Vanilla
4. Absolut Vodka
5. Advocaat egg liqour
   
6. Bacardi Apple
7. Baileys Irish Cream
8. Cazadores gold tequila
   
9. Chinese rice wine
10. Contreau
11. Finlandia Cranberry
12. Gordon's gin
13. Green Fairy absinthe
14. Jagermeister
15. Jameson whiskey
16. Johnnie Walker Black Label whiskey
17. Kahlua coffee liqour
18. Malibu Coconut flavoured rum
19. Martini Bianco
20. Peachtree schnapps
21. Sake
22. Sauza Gold tequila
23. Tuak

As for the mixers, we had:

1. Sprite
2. Coke
3. Ribena
4. Lime juice
5. Orange juice
6. Beer
7. Guinness
8. Apple juice
9. Cranberry juice
10. Pinapple juice
11. Lemons

I also had shakers, and cocktail books in case someone wanted to try something LESS experimental...

Needless to say, we all got mightily high, but surprisingly not drunk. I guess the cocktails weren't THAT potent, or maybe it's just because all of us could REALLY drink.

Between us, we made up cocktails, some pretty good, and some really awful ones like Vicky's Advocaat + Guinness + Tequila concoction, and Junial's absinthe + Rum + Whiskey shooter he made for Deep (the one and only shooter of the night. We banned them after that one).

The Tray of Death (a tray of shotglasses filled with different sorts of liqour at random) was only used twice - once when someone forgot to refill his glass, and the other, when someone held on to his drink far too long.

It was just too bad there were so few of us, or it there have been more cocktails going around. And I wish I'd written down the drinks we made because some of them were pretty good. Oh well, there's always next time... hee hee.. HIC!


Even Tony Stark Approves.

Ian Wright & The Club That Made Him – Crystal Palace

With Crystal Palace F.C currently in administration, times are tough for the South London Club at the moment, as the wait for a buyer goes on, and the future of the management team and players remains uncertain.

It has been 'reported' in the press that Ian Wright is interested in making a return to the club that gave him his first break - only this time in a coaching role.

Here we take a look at the man whose life changed forever when he pulled on the red and blue jersey of Crystal Palace, and triggered one of the most successful periods of time in the history of the Club.


Ian Edward Wright was born 3rd November 1963 in Woolwich, South London. He was the third son of Jamaican immigrants. His father Herbert left home when he was four, and he was brought up by his mother Nesta.

He trained as a bricklayer and plasterer when he left school at 16, and spent a week in Chelmsford Prison for not paying motoring fines.

Prison scared him sufficiently to put him on the straight and narrow, and he focused his energy on playing football for his local side 'Ten Em Bee.'

He was rejected by Brighton and Southend before Crystal Palace talent scout Pete Prentice happened to see Wright in a local Sunday-league match playing for Greenwich Borough and invited him to have a trial at Selhurst Park

He impressed then-manager Steve Coppell, and signed professional terms for Crystal Palace in August 1985, on an initial contract worth £100-a-week, just three months short of his 22nd birthday.

In his first game for Palace he came on as a substitute against Oldham Athletic and within minutes he scored.

In his first season, Wright scored nine times to finish as Palace's joint second-highest scorer with Phil Barber
When Mark Bright joined him at Palace two years later, the partnership clicked and Wright blossomed.

Their strike partnership was a major factor in taking the the club into the top flight via the playoffs in 1989.

Behind the scenes at Palace not everything was flowers and chocolates!

Wright and Palace's other young black players, Andy Gray and Tony Finnegan had been racially abused on the training ground by their team-mates, perhaps unsurprising given then chairman Ron Noades’s controversial statements about the make-up of his team, and coming to a head in 1991, when he said of the current crop of talented black players plying their trade at Palace that "the black players at this club lend the side a lot of skill and flair, but you also need white players in there to balance things up and give the team some brains and some common sense."

It was an astonishing things to say.......and Wright reported Noades to the Commission of Racial Equality.

Abused on his England B debut at Millwall and fined for spitting at racist fans at Oldham and QPR, Wright became an effective spokesperson against racial prejudice in football.

Ian Wright is probably best remembered for scoring two goals as a Crystal Palace substitute in the 1990 FA Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley, having just recovered from a broken leg, sustained earlier in the season.
Wright equalized for Palace a few minutes after coming onto the field, then put Palace 3-2 ahead in extra-time before Mark Hughes’ equalizer seven minutes from time forced a replay, saved United’s blushes and many say the job of manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
It was rumored Ferguson was on the verge of dismissal if he didn’t deliver some silverware after several fruitless years as United manager. However United went on to win the replay, and the rest as they say is history.

In February 1991 Wright was handed his England debut by manager Graham Taylor.
He started in the 2-0 victory against Cameroon at Wembley.
Whilst a Palace player Wright made five appearances for the full England side.
Also in 1991 he completed his century of Palace goals to become only the fifth man to achieve that feat since the club's foundation in 1905.

In September 1991 Wright moved to Arsenal for £2.5m

In total Ian Wright played 227 games for Crystal Palace scoring 117 goals in a little over six seasons.

Stuck In a Rut

Lately I've been stuck in a rut when it comes to the blog. I get great ideas for posts, and I also have some stuff to review, but then when I actually open the 'New Post' page, I write two sentences then I lose interest. It's not like I've lost interest in blogging altogether, but lately I've been wondering, "What's the point?"

This blog has been going on for five, almost six years now. Now, that's one heck of a long time for a blog I'd initially set up just to do some book reviews and maybe write some nonsense on. But it's stagnated lately. I've run out of fresh ideas, run out of fresh ways to say unfresh things. Heck, even this post feels like I've written it before (hey, I think I wrote that last line before as well...).

When Haloscan got uppity and changed into that crappy Echo comments system, I lost ALL the few thousand comments I'd accumulated over the years. That's a LOT of comments. And I miss 'em. Because what's a blog if there are no comments? I'd initially thought of migrating the whole blog to a new engine like Wordpress with it's own domain name, but since then I've gotten lazy AGAIN, and just decided to leave the blog as it is.

I've been a lot more active in Twitter, true, but somehow it just ain't the same as having a nicely written blog post with people commenting about how cool or how sucky it actually is. And 140 characters just aren't enough sometimes. (Don't get me started on Twitlonger. That's for long-winded people who can't get to the point, but don't have enough intelligent thoughts or the vocabulary for a proper blog post).

Heck, I don't even update Hantu Bola as often anymore (though that's mostly because Liverpool is having a wretched season). It's like all the writing I do for both the day job AND the blog is finally catching up to me and I'm getting sick of it. Not the writing part, but the 'thinking of new ideas' part.

Anyway, I need something to get me going here again. Something fresh, something new to keep me going, something that I can actually feel enthusiastic about enough to keep updating regularly. Something like Suan's Bootcamp posts (without which we wouldn't get half as many updates from her).

Sure, we wish she'd blog about something else sometimes, but she's got such great passion and enthusiasm about the subject that it actually makes the post more interesting. So I need to find something that can spark me to write about it the way OBC sparks her enthusiasm to write about OBC. Since little bloggers like me don't get invited to half as many events as others, and I don't watch THAT many movies (so I can't keep churning out Movie Not-Reviews), I'm really at a loss here.

So... any suggestions?

`-` kim kardashian :: at prime 112 in miami `-`

Jon Stewart Castrates The Blogosphere

As is usually the case, it is left to the Comedy Central programming of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to point out these funny aspects of our media and our society that go mainly overlooked.

From "The Blogs Must Be Crazy" segment:

It's almost as if these headlines are freakishly out of proportion to the content contained within them.

Oh, did you Comedy Central writers notice that too?

A good headline makes all the difference, and if somebody isn't getting castrated, eviscerated and then decapitated its just not a good headline.

I guess the real title of this post is:

Lightborn Eviscerates The Blogosphere

But I have a suggestion: the "versus posts."

Someone vs. Someone, instead of Someone metaphorically cannibalizes Someone else.

Just a thought...

Cry Havoc, And Let Slip The Dogs Of War

Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.

- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 1601

The battle cry is laid, and I intend to slay this paper-dragon of bipartisanship and Americanism returning to these lands.

The declaration of war against progressive liberalism has changed this from a country of individuals that disagree to a battlefield of blood that none shall escape unscathed.

To deny this, is to perish.

For they will not halt their spears and draw back their arrows simply for those who heard not the war drums and ignored the pronouncement of their guilt upon the mount. They will run down all of us like wheat before the scythe unless we gather out strength and fight back.

The enemy is conservatism, the worst that America has to offer the world.

The enemy seeks to alter the history of our times, to escape all consequence for that which they have wrought and lay waste to the lands with fear, poverty and misinformation.

They would replace science with rhetoric, replace reason with bigotry, replace love with vengeance, replace wisdom with pride.

The Commander told us, "I am not an ideologue."

Well I am, sir.

Not an intractable ideologue, I'll hear out the terms of the parley of the enemy forces gathered against us.

The Commander Obama will not lead us in this field, he refuses to lead the liberal movement.

So I say it is time for the Captains to start giving out some orders.

I have but one order to the Liberal Blogger Squadron that remains true to the cause:

CRY HAVOC, AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!

That which is us, remains under seige.

Lose not faith in to the Commander and those we sent to the wreckage of Bush-Cheney, but we shall rise in this moment not dither and fade.

We have been declared the enemies of America, and I believe it time to illustrate some proven facts we all hold within ourselves for fear of the ripples they might make.

Conservatism is all too together friendly to racism.

Conservatism is all too together friendly to bigotry.

Conservatism is all too together friendly to domestic terrorism.

Conservatism is all too together friendly to all violence.

Conservatism is all too together friendly to lying to get ahead.

Conservatism is all too together friendly to tyranny.

Richard Dawkins - The Virus of Faith

"Some say that while religious fundamentalists betray reason, moderate believers betray faith and reason equally. The moderates position seems to me to be fence-sitting, they half-believe in the Bible. But how do they decide which parts to believe literally, and which parts are just allegorical?"

As a member of the religious moderate camp, I take issue with these statements. There is no question that fundamentalists betray reason, but a moderate does not betray faith nor reason and here is why: scientific facts are not rejected by a moderate as they are by a fundamentalist therefore that which accounts to the betrayal of reason for the fundamentalist is not true of the moderate; by drawing upon a more personal and perhaps more primal sense of faith and understanding the moderate is only leaving the confines of faith that are formed as preconceived misconceptions in the minds of others while never betraying the true nature of their own faith. By my logic, moderates are neither betraying faith nor reason. While there is nothing less than truth in the statement, "they half-believe the Bible" I believe the position is not "fence-sitting" in the least and here is why: The Bible is a flawed book, like trying to look at the truth through broken glass; if we draw a distinction between a precept or a series of moral teachings against certain stories that the vast majority of our number believe are purely allegorical in nature that is not failing to take a position but rather the act of taking the position that these pieces should be venerated while others diminished. The question posed by Dawkins is profound and requires a more lengthy response than I am willing to formulate at this moment. The short and witty answer is: arbitrarily. But that is mostly in jest and mainly meant to point out that there is no one definition of moderate religious belief so much as there is a loose grouping among many faiths and churches. It cannot to be answered to the satisfaction of Dawkins and others that would apply strict logical reasoning to the equation but the difference between allegory and literalist in the Bible comes from divine interpretation or, to use a less provocative term, personal spiritual guidance.

"We are privileged to be alive, and we should make the most of our time in this world."

I could not agree more with Dawkins on this point.

Life is precious and should not be given any less value to every waking moment of it.

Where I divide greatly from Dawkins is centered around this conflict between God and science.

Religion, expressly organized and established religion, are in direct conflict with science. There is no doubt of this whatsoever.

But I and many others do not see God and religion as one in the same.

God exists as a metaphor for the unknown, in one mode of thought, and the very practice and essence of science relies entirely upon an unknown in order to exist.

The day we know everything, we will have little more use for science.

This is much the same I feel about God or more loosely the concept of a "higher power": the day we control life and death, the flow of time, and have attained all power the universe has to bestow is the day none alive would see a use for a "God".

The unknown itself, defines both science and faith.

Faith is irrational, and taken to extremes it is always dangerous. While science has no such pitfalls.

But I still do not advocate the eradication of faith, though I do agree with Dawkins in regards to religious upbringing not being a healthy psychological practice to put a child through.

I believe, and I shall surely write more of this in days and months to come, that faith combined with reason is not a flawed stance or lacking any amount of logical context.

I would also argue from a more emotional standpoint that a purely scientific view of the world, as I once held myself, is "sterile" and "overtly plain".

Senate Reconciliation Now!

The Republican obstructionism on the health care reform agenda is not "principled objections" as Senate minority leader Eric Cantor suggests. It is non-principled, pure nihilistic policy of poisoning the well and deception on behalf of conservatives.

The liberal majority that elected Democrats to office in 2008 has spoken.

The Public Option must survive in a final health care bill, and the process of reconciliation between House and Senate bills is the only avenue by which Democratic representatives can claim to have made any "meaningful reform" come reelection time.

Make it clear that this will not go away, and we the liberal progressives will not be silent.

This push did not come from the White House, or the Progressive Caucus, or from the desk of Sen. Harry Reid. This push for a strong public option through reconciliation came from the people who understand that health care is a moral issue, not merely a budgetary issue.

Both President Obama and Senator Reid remain open to the pursuit of Senate reconciliation, but I believe it important to state that this in itself is the "failure to sell health care reform to the American people" I spoke of before.

Instead, we will have to make perfectly clear that the public option must go forward and does not continue to be the "public optional."

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on Friday afternoon that he would work with other Democrats and the White House to pass a public option through reconciliation if that's the legislative path the party chooses.

The party has spoken. The ball is their court now in congress, but we must not allow this to fade into the night.

Just as Paul Krugman recently closed an op-ed with, "Health Care Reform Now!" I would say the as he except in different words given the changing of the situation but holding the same meaning:

Senate Reconciliation Now!

Come and Tumpang Our Juicy Glamour!

Ooooh look what's in this month's Juice magazine!



YAY! Our very first mainstream media coverage! (Though I have to say I prefer the first hand accounts from all the bloggers who came to our parties. Hehe).

In case you can't read the text, here it is (with one correction - MTG2 was held at METROPOLITAN SQUARE, not Millennium Square):



Here's a BIG thank you to the sponsors! I've already mentioned the MTG1 sponsors HERE, and the MTG2 sponsors are Carlsberg & Tuborg, 2Crank.com, Red Bull and Metropolitan Square!

Thanks to everyone who helped us make the past two parties such a success! The first one was awesome. The second one was even better. And in case you're wondering when the next one is, all I can say now is we've pretty much got the booze and the DJ covered, and now we're looking very hard for a suitable venue.

We've done a tattoo parlour, and a poolside. Now we want something different!



So, want to help us get MTG3 going? Give us cool suggestions on where we can have the next one! We're looking for venues that can fit around 100 people, where we can make as much noise as possible (preferably nowhere near any residential areas).

Until the next MTG, a very big THANK YOU from Syarikat Tumpang Glamour!

Michael Gerson: "Defending the word 'retard' is not heroic"

Former George W. Bush presidential speech writer Michael Gerson has come out strongly in a recent op-ed against the use of the "r-word" in our commonly used dialectic.

The media is least attractive when it offers the pretense of fairness to cover a desire for self-serving controversy.

Professor Christopher Fairman of Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University takes to The Post today to defend the word "retard" against taboo, censorship and other forms of social repression. He argues that the r-word must be rescued from the terrible fate of the f-word. Even the n-word has "varied and evolving uses."

Defending the r-word is not the protection of free expression; it is the defense of bullies.

There is a long tradition of religious and and moral reflection on the words we choose to speak. According to the Hebrew scriptures, "Death and life are in power of the tongue." Jesus of Nazareth argued, "It is not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

Epithets gain and lose currency. Which means that standards of morality, respect and tact must be constantly reapplied in new circumstances -- not that all standards should be abandoned entirely.

What the Special Olympics is proposing is not government censorship, it is social stigma. In this case, such stigma is a sign of moral maturity.

I have signed the pledge at www.r-word.org. I hope you do as well.

I also encourage you to sign the Special Olympics pledge against using the derogatory label "retard" against any person for any reason.

I would also challenge any person of any variety of partisan politics, which includes myself as well, to try and refrain from personal attacks and all statements that most people would honestly agree is a simple lack of "standards of morality, respect and tact" as Gerson describes it.

Famous Rants - Oslo 1981

"LORD Nelson!Lord Beaverbrook!Sir Winston Churchill ! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! (lapses into frenzied Norwegian, roughly translated as 'we have beaten them all!') Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of a beating!"

The scene: Oslo, Norway, 9th September 1981. A hapless England led by Lancashire born boss Ron Greenwood looked to have blown their World Cup qualifying hopes for their third successive tournament by losing 2-1 to a Norwegian team considered to be cannon fodder.

News enough in itself, but the match passed

into footballing folklore thanks to this joyful 'rant' at the final whistle from the Norwegian radio commentator, Bjorge Lillelien, who, in a few breathless seconds, outdid even the most frenzied Brazilian broadcaster with his random grasp of iconic British celebrities, statesmen and women.

England would love to consign this banana skin to a permanently sealed archive, but thanks to our hero, Mr. Lillelien it will be mentioned in perpetuity whenever the teams meet.
Henry Cooper now Sir Henry, the South East Londoner, has never been held in such esteemed company.

Lucky England still qualified for the World Cup in Spain in 1982, thanks largely to the ineptitude of the other teams in England's group - Romania suffered an embarrassing home defeat to Switzerland.

The team in Oslo contained four all-conquering Liverpool players, plus Bryan Robson and Kevin Keegan.

Finally, the rant may have inflicted lasting damage, as the commentator died prematurely a few years later.

England Team: 1.Clemence 2.Neal 3.Mills 4.Osman 5.Thompson 6.Robson B 7.Keegan 8.Francis 9.Mariner (Withe) 10.Hoddle (Barnes P) 11.McDermott

Scorer: Robson B

Texas Joins In On The Science-Denial Trend

The state of Texas has jumped on the science-denial bandwagon currently gripping the right-wing. Texas has challenged the EPA findings that greenhouse gas emissions are classified as "dangerous," claiming that the findings are based on flawed science. This is of course a false and absurd claim coming from the leading greenhouse gas emitter of the U.S.

Al Armendariz, the EPA's regional director over Texas, said the agency is confident the finding will withstand any legal action. He also said the move isn't surprising considering Texas' pattern of opposition to the EPA.

"Texas, which contributes up to 35 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted by industrial sources in the United States, should be leading the way in this effort," he said. "Instead, Texas officials are attempting to slow progress with unnecessary litigation."

EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said it's the first legal challenge by a state, though industry groups have also challenged it.

Texas says the EPA's research should be discounted because it was conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore in 2007 for its work on climate change but has since been embarrassed by errors and irregularities in its reports.

(Nobody ever successfully connected the so-called "Climategate" hacking incident, which I assume are the "errors & irregularities" mentioned, and the matter of the Greenhouse Gas Effect or the Climate Science findings as a whole in any way except political partisans with obvious Big Energy funding and absolutely no facts to back up the case they make.)

The guys and gals of The Great State of Denial, good ol' Texas, seem to hold different standards of The Scientific Method and Comparative Analysis. Maybe those words are just too big for Texas.

I see this as just a symptom of a much larger problem breeding under the surface: the praise of ignorance over knowledge; the willful destruction of critical thinking.

The "debate" over climate change can be settled in moments by the most simple process of comparing the credibility of the sources and the amount of raw data on both ends. There is not a debate going on in the scientific community, there is a consensus with a few skeptic holdouts that have almost all published debunked papers at some point or another, but within the political community and the business community they would like very much for this issue to be up for debate. But it's not, an overwhelming body of evidence exists in favor of Climate Science and skeptics fail to bring any new data ("Climategate" was the biggest joke on conservatives and their complete inability to rationally review data ever) so it's simply "denial" and nothing more from these Big Money influenced talking heads. The Deniers and the Consensus; Texas just put itself on the side of the Deniers.

What lies under the surface here is the desire to squelch all rational discussion and replace it with bumper-sticker sound bytes. If anyone dares speak out against these ridiculous claims circulating and tries to use facts instead of rhetoric, then you can bet they will start up the personal attacks and just making even more broad claims about more unproven garbage. If you are even perceived as "smart" then you must be a "elitist liberal" who will only "lie to confuse you." They are teaching people to hate intelligence and love stupidity in the once great state of Texas, all in the name of keeping their rich friends happy and scoring cheap political points while they are at it too.

`-` beautiful emmy rossum `-`

Let's Get Drunk Like The Drunken Master!

Have you ever wondered what kind of booze those wacky ancient Chinese martial artists seem to be drinking in those movies? The ones where they keep pouring down their throats, dribbling down their necks and spilling all over the place?

Well, I've been to China a couple times before, and after going through the Duty Free shops in the airports a couple times, I still have no idea which kind of wine is the kind the drunken kungfu masters drink. I see lots of rice wine around, which seems to be the staple ones, and they are always in these fancy little ornate china bottles or boxes so I can't tell what kind of liquor it is. I bought one of those bottles back before, and it turned out to be 'Hua Tiao Jiu', the kind of rice wine my mom used to use cook drunken chicken... So I wasn't sure if you could drink it just like that...

My guess is it's either the baijiu (distilled liquor) or huangjiu (fermented liquor) that they have in those gourds/casks. It's always clear stuff in the movies, so my money's on the baijiu.

I just don't get why whenever they drink, they have to waste so much of it. I mean, when those kungfu guys drink, they always spill a lot of wine all over the place and all over themselves; and don't seem to be DRINKING it much. So how do they get drunk so easily? Geez.

Anyway, I'll be going back to China again soon, and this time I aim to find out once and for all what is the best kind of alcohol to buy for a er.. party. As long as it ain't got snakes in 'em, I'm willing to give it a shot... (eheh, geddit? a shot? eh? eh? sigh...)

Oh, and in case I don't update in the holidays... HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

It's The Carlos and Emmanuel Show - Betting News with Betfred

Stoke City fans hoping their side can cause an upset and beat Manchester City in the FA Cup should be wary of a blossoming double act that will be looking to strike them down.

The two sides meet at Eastlands on Saturday to see who will make it into the last eight of the FA Cup and Stoke's defence are going to come up against two strikers who are bang in form and both loving life under new boss Roberto Mancini.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez both scored in their side's 2-0 win over Bolton in midweek, a result which ensured City continue to put pressure on the Premier League top four. They currently lie fifth, level on points with Liverpool and with two games in hand.

Stoke, 12th in the Premier League must take some comfort from the fact they knocked Premier League title chasers Arsenal out of the FA Cup at The Britannia Stadium in the previous round, but worryingly have only managed to win twice on the road this season, at Tottenham in October in the League and at Leyton Orient in the Carling Cup back in August.

Any punters fancying the Potters to pull off what would be a 'cup shock' can back a Stoke win at odds of 7/1 with Betfred.

However, the FA Cup odds suggest 'The Blues' could go all the way to Wembley and Adebayor fancies their chances.

The Togo skipper has told the club's official website, "he is happy when he sees his strike partner score and the two are working hard together to fire City to success this season."

"If he can score 30 goals and I only score a few, I'll be more than happy. Because if Carlos and his goals help us to win things, I'll be very happy for us all," said Adebayor.

"We still have a chance to be at Wembley in the FA Cup and are in the running for fourth place in the Premier League. We will keep going and enjoy ourselves. We want to keep that dream."

The current form of City's striking duo could mean the Stoke defence are in for a torid 90 minutes and odds of 5/1 for their side to win 2-0 could be seen as a good bet by some fans.


The Tip Of The Weekend:
Carlos Tevez to be first goalscorer and Manchester City to win 3-0 @ 28/1 with Betfred - Saturday 13th February, kick-off 5.15pm, live on ITV1

By Drew Swainston
(Guest writer from Betfred on behalf of Beer Footy and Birds!)

The Silversun Swoon: Perfect For Drowning Out Annoying Ringtones

After looping Florence and The Machine and The XX endlessly in the days leading up to the concert last Sunday and two days after that as well; yesterday I figured I needed I change. A LOUD change.

Since I was chasing two deadlines yesterday and needed to concentrate, I especially needed something with a CONSTANT LOUDNESS to drown out the annoying Chipmunk and Spongebob ringtones as well as the constant phone chatter coming from the next cubicle.

The Silversun Pickups' Swoon turned out to be perfect for this, with its constant drumming beats and awesome guitar rhythms. Their last album Carnavas was pretty damn good, what with the awesome Lazy Eye, Rusted Wheel and Three Seeds in it; but I kinda like Swoon more. And I'm still upset that they lost the Best New Artist Grammy to some country music band.

Anyway, at one point, I ended up looping one particular song over and over and over and over and over again - The Royal We. It has a certain sneering attitude that I have a weakness for, some pretty neat small flourishes in the arrangements, and gradually builds itself into an awesome climax that I can't help headbanging to or screaming in the car whenever I hear it. Plus it's awesome to listen to when walking in malls. No, really.

My only complaint? 'The Royal We' sounds a bit er... wrong, like it was referring to some king's piss. And don't ask me what it means either...

Ken I watch Toy Story 3 NOW NOW NOW? Pretty Peas?

YAY! Toy Story 3 is coming this year, and a new trailer for the movie will be released tomorrow!

In Malaysia, we'll be having an overdose of Toy Story goodness, what with the first two movies being released in glorious THREE DEE in April, then in May, Toy Story 3! Time for another Pixar marathon! Heh heh.

Anyway, counting down to the trailer tomorrow, Pixar have released the first two of FOURTEEN new toys to debut in the movie along with the old gang. Here's the first two...

First up, Peas-In-A-Pod, courtesy of Comingsoon:



Altogether now... AWWWWWW! SO KIIIUUUTTT!!!!

And of course, voiced by none other than Michael "Original Batman" Keaton, is here's Ken, courtesy of Ain't It Cool News:



Oh dear. No wonder he's insecure...