Bush picks conservative for Supreme Court

Stung by the rejection of his first choice by conservatives, Bush has nominated conservative judge Samuel Alito to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in a bid to reshape the Supreme Court and mollify his political base.

In contrast to Miers, Alito is said to have more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in 70 years. He is so consistently conservative, that Judge Alito has been dubbed “Scalito” or “Scalia-lite” by some lawyers because his judicial philosophy invites comparisons to conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The White House hopes the choice mends a rift in the Republican Party caused by the failed nomination of Miers. With the rebuke of Ms. Miers, the rising death toll in Iraq, his slow-footed response to hurricane Katrina and last Friday's indictment of top vice-presidential aide I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Bush's approval ratings continue to be the lowest of his presidency.

Not that he matters anymore.

Plugging away at Demos

This weekend I have been working away getting more online demos ready - it's pitch time and I need to refresh (and in some cases write) our material. This weekend I've been working on the Data Field Fill Tool (I hope to finish the draft tonight) - it's a long process.

This week I have several product demos so things should be pretty busy - I'm going to try to use tomorrow to get some more meetings setup and complete my current online projects.

Jump in the Hockey Pool

Saturday Night was very good to me in the Hockey Pool as I jumped up 25 points since my trade. This puts me within about 5 points of Dan (who didn't pick Joe Thornton). Still early in the season, so we'll have to see what transpires.

The Leafs were crushed on Saturday by Ottawa by the score of 8-0. It was a hard game to watch as the Leafs defensive game was apparently somewhere else far away. It might be time to refresh/restart my "Trade McCabe" page although he really didn't personally look so bad.

Finally some goals.

Liverpool won today's match against West Ham and gave me a very little bit of confidence that the side might actually be able to put the ball in the net.

In office hockey pool news, I did make my Rick Nash injury trade, picking up Jaromir Jagr in his place. Although Staal and the Hurriances do look like a point scoring machine these days, I have to be confident that Jagr's selection won't be bad for me in the end. As I review the current point leaders in the league there are many, many solid producing players that I didn't consider - so my expectation is that my current standing (second) is likely to be a temporary one. Still it is very early on in the season. My only real hope going forward is the my unique-to-the-pool picks of Robert Lang, Alex Tanguay and Alexander Frolov suddenly blossom.

Is the Bush White House Starting to Fall?

The New York Times reported today in regard to the Valerie Plame/CIA leak probe that Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, will be charged with making false statements to a federal grand jury. An indictment of Bush's Chief of Staff Karl Rove could be not far behind.

David Gergen, a former adviser to presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, told CNN's "Larry King Live" that indictments in the case could have an enormous impact on the Iraq war.

"Because if there are indictments, it will not only be people close to the president, the vice president of the United States, but they will raise questions about whether criminal acts were perpetrated to help get the country into war."

Any indictments against Rove or Libby would be politically damaging to the White House at a time when Bush's approval ratings are already suffering and his agenda is falling to pieces. This week alone Harriet Miers withdrew as a SCOTUS nominee and the number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war surpassed 2,000.

Ms Plame's identity was leaked after her husband, diplomat Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence to support military action against Iraq.

And in all this legal mumbo jumbo let's not forgot Jeff Gannon! To be honest I couldn't recall Gannon's name but a Google Search of the phrase "gay escort cia leak" quickly produced the required information. Gannon was one of the "reporters" apparently hand-picked to "out" Plame.

2:12pm Addenda: Libby has resigned after being charged.

Blair 'revulsion' at Iran remarks

Tony Blair has expressed 'revulsion' at the Iranian president's assertion that he wanted Israel 'wiped off the map'.

Mr Blair told an EU summit at Hampton Court, near London, that he had 'never come across' comments like those made by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday.

He added that Iran, suspected of having a nuclear weapons programme, could soon be considered a 'real threat'.

Up this week.

Yes, I was up this week .6 of a pound - not altogether unsurprising given that I well exceeded my flex points - mostly over the weekend. Oh well, work harder this coming week. (I shrugged when one of the WW ladies gave me a disappointed look)

I worked out with Humberto and Anthony last night and things were surprisingly good - I wasn't wasted, speed was OK and strength seems more-or-less the same although I could only do 25 reps on the bench-press. Anthony sets a freight train pace and I did manage to keep up.

Miers steps down from nomination

The Texas lawyer nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George W Bush, Harriet Miers, has withdrawn as a nominee to the court.

Ms Miers, who has served as White House counsel for Bush but has no judicial experience (this is not without precedent although she hasn't written any scholarly work either), has come in for criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Disapproval for Miers was especially felt from Conservatives who were very vocal in their concerns for her lack of experience. In the last few weeks she was reprimanded by Senators for giving 'incomplete to insulting' answers to a written questionnaire given to new Court appointees.

Guess we'll have to see who the replacement will be - hopefully a moderate. Miers was an unknown but thought to lean to the left (which would be odd considering her long-time affiliation with Bush).

Neal Updates his Site

A big update for Neal's Website this week showing how he and Sara are preparing for Halloween with a pumpkin named "Jeffrey".

Rick Nash is still a week away from playing

And that means he's out of my hockey pool!

Nash admits he made a mistake playing in the October 5 opener as he really wasn't ready. He skated by himself for 25 minutes yesterday, the first time he has been on the ice since the opener. He skated laps and did no cutting or stopping. Nash said that the ankle feels stronger and he hopes to be back by November 1 or 3.

McDonald's puts fat facts on food

Fast food giant McDonald's (blech!) is to begin printing nutritional facts on the packaging of its burgers and fries. Nutritional information on items such as the Big Mac, which contains 30g of fat, are currently only available in leaflets or on the company's website. (For the record, a McD cheeseburger is 6pts, a BigMac... off the scale at 13+. As a 190lb male I have a recommended target maintain intake of about 26pts/day)

McDonald's said it hoped to have the new packaging in 20,000 of its 30,000 fast food restaurants worldwide by the end of 2006.

Lethal bird flu found in Croatia

The dangerous H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed more than 60 people in Asia, has now been found in Croatia, the European Union has announced.

Croatian authorities said they slaughtered all domestic poultry in four villages near a Nasice pond where two of 13 swans found dead tested positive for bird flu. The pond is next to the Zdenci park and all the infected swans were believed to have been from the same flock.

The virus had earlier been detected in birds in Romania, Russia and Turkey, raising fears it could spread to the rest of Europe.

On Wednesday, Britain's Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett revealed that a second parrot had probably died of the lethal strain of the disease while in quarantine in the UK.

Fat Fingers are Good (for me)

Thousands of items on eBay are listed with descriptions containing spelling mistakes. These items often expire with no bids on them as no-one can find them. Then came Fat Fingers and all was good for buyers once more. Try a search for "Charles Lindbergh" to see what I mean!

Liverpool out of Carling Cup.

LFC was put out of the Carling Cup by nobodies Crystal Palace. Just terrible. _sigh_

Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer, dead at 92

Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died yesterdayday. She was 92.

Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."

At that time, Jim Crow laws in place since the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.

Glengate to Disperse

Doh! This was Matthew's Winter contract! Glengate Farms is getting out of the business much sooner than expected!

On Days Like Today

This is my best friend...

Benitez getting Pissed?

Reds boss Rafael Benitez has warned his side that they need to be more ruthless in front of goal.

So far the Club has scored only five goals in eight Premiership games this season and are 13th in the table after losing to Fulham last Saturday. Benitez's anger was not reserved solely for his players, with Liverpool's backroom staff, among whom he includes himself, rebuked for the casual start to a defeat that left the club languishing 13th in the table and struggling to retain the euphoria of Istanbul. After last summer, it's been hard as a supporter to watch (and explain) how a side of such apparent passion can come out of the blocks so limply.

Last season the criticism that followed 11 losses away from Anfield stayed behind the iron gates of the Melwood training ground, but after witnessing the return of the failings that plagued his inaugural Premiership season at Fulham, the Liverpool manager yesterday accused his European champions of having an attitude problem that will consign them to another season of domestic under-achievement if it persists.

Which Superhero are You?

As if there was any doubt...

Wilma wallops Florida on Oct 24, 2005

The storm is rated as Category 3 as it makes landfall. Hurricane Wilma slammed into south Florida on Monday with high winds, driving rains and storm surges, killing one man at Coral Springs before beginning to weaken.

Gov. Jeb Bush said at least 2.2 million homes were without electricity and some 4,000 utility workers were on standby to begin repairs. FEMA has announced that they are prepared. The storm ravaged the Caribbean - Havana, Cuba has been flooded, while police in Mexico are trying to control looting in the wake of Wilma's visit.

Is there a connection between Hurriances and Global Warming? It seems that the answer is no to the number of storms, but potentially yes to their strength.

On the weekend loss to Fulham...

Rafael Benitez is demanding that his team improve and said that he won't tolerate another showing like the first half display they produced at Fulham at Saturday again, that largely led to their downfall and a 2-0 defeat.

Benitez had his squad in at Melwood on Sunday to watch a re-run of the Fulham game and he told his players the first half just wasn't and isn't acceptable for Liverpool Football Club.

Benitez said: 'We had more determination in the second half, but the first half was the same kind of performance away from home as last year. "

WeightWatchers Meeting was Today

Yes, that's 3.4 lb lost in one week. Who would have expected that?

Oh No - Hurricane Wilma has record barometric pressure

Hurricane Wilma today jumped from a Category 2 to a dangerous Category 5 storm, with the lowest-recorded barometric pressure of any Atlantic basin hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

Lower pressure is one indicator of a more intense hurricane.

The storm - now located in the western Caribbean - was forecast to make landfall somewhere in southwestern Florida as soon as the weekend.

Stratton Architects Website Coming Along

The G Bruce Stratton Architects website and side-project that I've been working on is coming along. The Flash Site is very close to being ready with the need for current text content (provided by the architects) being the current bottleneck.

Working Out ahead of Thursday

I haven't made a fitness post in a while, so here goes...

This week I've been trying to get back into an active mode by working out more at the gym. I haven't worked out with Humberto since my return from KS and I had been struggling in our sessions since my weeks travelling in August.

The WeightWatchers program has a target of 28 Activity Points a week which I have to say is pretty tough to pull off. Last night's 35 minutes of skipping is only worth 5 points (6 if I want to claim being a few pounds heavier). I imagine that the (high) Activity Points target is for motivation purposes as clearly you're not doing yourself any harm being so active. The program is going pretty well and my analysis of my eating habits has been informative if not terrifying.

I can't recall mentioning it, but rugby this year ended with a whimper when we only had 5 guys show up for a last run. Very disappointing. I'm gravely concerned that our summer runs wouldn't continue next year as careers, marriage and children compete for the afternoons.

Behind the Curtain Is...

Yes, another Daily Show inspired entry about a story that is both outraging and depressing me.

Early Thursday (last week) President Bush had an informal "candid" chat with soldiers stationed in Iraq where he asked some ah-sucks real heart-felt questions. No surprise, his staff ran through his opening remarks with the soldiers prior to the live satellite broadcast. Then the staff ran through some questions without the commander-in-chief being present. Then they instructed the soldiers in how to respond.

That this setup took place isn't all that surprising in our spin-driven, media strategy driven political world. I would expect it to be common to use a trial run to want to ensure things go smoothly when the President arrives. But what is astonishing is that the staffers allowed the preparations to be recorded by the media. By doing so they are truly revealing the man behind the curtain - and increasingly he's looking like an incompentent and confused fool. Help! Help! World Leader lost in Conversation! Send in spin doctors!

In the "chat" there were also several factual inaccuracies about the situation in Iraq that misrepresent the official military view from the ground. /sigh/

Less than enthusiastic Victory Report

Perhaps it was a kind of delayed shock from the Chelsea result, or perhaps it was more a result of the recent lull enforced by the international break, but the subdued atmosphere on Saturday seemed to confirm that the supporters' main interest this season already lies firmly ensconced within the Champions League.

Liverpool won 1-0 but it's getting frustrating that goals are proving so elusive this season. Three draws away are expensive in the League Tables!

EU takes stand on football rights

The European Commission has threatened to take legal steps against the Premier League if it fails to make concessions over television rights.

The EU is said to be keen to break BSkyB's exclusive grip on screening football matches. The Commission says current proposals to limit the number of matches per broadcaster do not go far enough.

The Commission's interest in the matter has met with fierce opposition from the Premier League which believes it is an unwarranted intervention in the marketplace.

However, 50% is enough to satisfy the ambitions of broadcaster ITV and cable firm NTL, who were reported to have teamed up this week to bid for the rights to screen half the live Premier League matches.

In 2003, BSkyB managed to buy all Premiership packages on offer in a £1bn deal. The broadcaster has won every auction of live Premiership coverage since the league was launched.

Fun with Google Earth

Although I am busy with a few proposals today, I have finally gotten around to trying out Google Earth.



It's pretty amazing!

John Peel Day

Renown British DJ John Peel's son has written a nice piece about being a Red's son:

"Everyone seems to know about John Peel the DJ, but what is not as widely known is his love for Liverpool Football Club.

He was that fanatical about Liverpool, he used to drive up to Anfield from Suffolk every other weekend and would go to many of the European games with John Gorman of The Scaffold.

Of course, a lot out-of-town Reds do the same but his fanaticism went way beyond the norm. When myself and my brothers and sisters were born we were all given middle names in honour of the club!"

The Irish are out.

The Republic of Ireland failed in their bid to reach the World Cup finals after drawing 0-0 with Switzerland at home. England defeated Poland 2-1, meaning that England finishes top of the group.

Richmond St. Hockey Pool

After having to pay for a certain someone, today's Richmond St. Hockey Pool results don't feel so sweet. Ok, so maybe I don't feel that bad.

Rail Tour in Caledon

My parents recently took a rail tour on the "Pride of Orangeville" and travelled through the Caledon Hills. Here is a Photo Gallery of their Rail Tour.

England Qualifies for World Cup

Frank Lampard put England on course for Germany with a first-half penalty after Paul Scharner fouled Michael Owen. David Beckham became the first player to be sent off twice for England as they stuttered to victory against Austria at Old Trafford. (Beckham was shown two yellow cards in two minutes in the second half for fouls on Andreas Ibertsberger)

But while their display was far from assured, England qualified later as Holland beat the Czech Republic and made the Poland match meaningless...

Jon Stewart Tonight!

Karina and I are headed to see Jon Stewart tonight at Massey Hall. Stewart likes to think he represents the distracted centre -- reasonable people who are at neither extreme and who 'aren't out there fighting for causes because they're busy,' he says. 'My politics is that extremism in any form has proven itself to be damaging.' Refreshingly, he still defends the country he takes the piss out of each night, proud of America's relative honesty. This show isn't a taping of The Daily Show, so it will be interesting to see how much U.S. politics plays into a Toronto performance.

China tips $100bn trade surplus

China predicts its trade surplus could triple to $100 billion this year, lifted by a 30 percent jump in exports, state media reported Friday.

China's Commerce Ministry warned that the surge could create new trade tensions, put additional pressure on China to revalue its currency and cause financial risks, the official China Daily newspaper reported. The U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $162 billion last year, an all-time high with any country, has been a persistent source of irritation between the two trading powers.

Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan was quoted as saying that China needed to do more to boost domestic consumption as a way to shrink the trade gap. China's trade surplus from January to August reached $60 billion, already far exceeding the $32 billion recorded for all of 2004.

British troops detain Basra policemen

British forces have detained 12 people, including three police officers, in connection with a series of deadly attacks on UK forces in southern Iraq.

Brigadier John Lorimer said the raid, in Basra during the night, was aimed at stopping the surge in attacks by local militia on allied troops.

NHL Restarts

And my hockey pool picks weren't too productive. Well it's early days yet.

Much tsunami clothing aid 'wasted'

Large amounts of clothing donated for victims of the December 26 tsunami went to waste because of poor communication, according to a report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The disaster highlighted how despite a huge international response, duplication of effort and competition caused a chaotic relief effort, the report released on Wednesday said.

"When a big disaster strikes, chaos is almost automatically what follows," Matthias Schmale, international director of the British Red Cross, told The Associated Press.

The Asian Development Bank said there was a shortfall of more than $4bn (£2.1bn) promised for rebuilding India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. An Oxfam study has found that aid has gone to businesses and landowners, leaving the poor out of rebuilding efforts.

New Zealand Farm Shots

Matthew has mailed out some photos from the farm he's working at in New Zealand. Although not evident from the pictures, I have to assume that there are actually people there. [ Photo Gallery ]

Ig Nobels honour Weird Science

A prestigious gathering of genuine Nobel laureates will help present the awards at the 15th Ig Nobel ceremony to be held Thursday amid pomp, mayhem and paper planes at Harvard University. The Ig Awards are presented for scientific achievement that "cannot or should not be reproduced".

Along with Professor Bernard Vonnegut, (who authored the seminal 1975 study on Chicken Plucking as a Measure of Tornado Wind Speed) previous winners of the increasingly prized Igs include authors of landmark reports on the impact of country music on suicide, the use of magnets to levitate frogs, and the effect of beer, garlic and sour cream on the appetite of leeches.

The keynote address on Thursday will be given by the 2003 Ig Nobel biology laureate Kees Moeliker, who won for documenting the first - and so far the only - recorded case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck.

Liverpool v Chelski

Garcia up front? Most perplexing.

We scare Chelsea, claims Benitez

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez claims Chelsea are afraid of playing against the Europeans champions.

Good on ya Rafa!