Rice admits THOUSANDS of Errors?

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has admitted the US has made thousands of tactical errors in Iraq, but said it was right to remove Saddam Hussein.

'This could have gone that way, or that could have gone this way,' said Ms Rice, adding that the US-led invasion was 'the right strategic decision'.

"I believe strongly that it was the right strategic decision, that Saddam (Hussein) had been a threat to the international community long enough," Ms Rice added.

Well he had WMDs. Oops! No, he didn't. And he was behind 9/11. Oops! No he wasn't! And he tired to acquire Uranium in Africa. Oops, my mistake again! Don't Plame Me!

Tomorrow is Moving DayDon't want to move today

It's true, tomorrow the van is coming and spiriting my things to Karina's place. We're not really ready, but then again we're not that unprepared. My stuff is largely packed up. My only major concern is that we have enough space for my couch upstairs.

My legs are still stiff and sore following Tuesday's ill-advised Pump It Up class - stil can't believe there wasn't any stretching (I left the class early). I won't be going to today's Boot Camp as a result.

Neko Case in Concert

Neko Case will be taping an episode of a new TV series, Beautiful Noise, in Toronto on Monday, April 3rd at the Berkeley Church, 315 Queen Street East. Perhaps I'll catch the show if plansfor Sunday's show at the Danforth Music Hall don't go ahead.

Iran called back to table

Iran has been given 30 days to return to the negotiating table and discuss the country's nuclear program or face isolation, foreign ministers from six major powers have warned.

The 15-member Security Council met and unanimously approved the non-binding statement on Wednesday - one month after Iran's nuclear activities were reported to the Council by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Liverpool Trip Pictures

After some massaging (and a broad editorial hand), here are my pictures from my recent trip to Liverpool for the Derby Match. Enjoy!

Liverpool Trip (Set 1) - Traveling, Sites
Liverpool Trip (Set 2) - Downtown Liverpool
Liverpool Derby 2006

Want an Enigma Machine?

Israeli Election Results

After declaring victory in Israel's elections, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima Party said Wednesday it would quickly form a broad ruling coalition that will carry out its plan to pull out of much of the West Bank and draw Israel's borders by 2010.

Party officials said that despite a weaker-than-expected performance in Tuesday's election, Kadima has widespread support in parliament.

Kadima won only 28 seats in the election, less than the 35 it had hoped for, but still making it the largest party in the 120-member parliament. Like every other ruling party in Israeli history, it will have to form a coalition government with other parties.

'Xactly what I said too.

Belfour is on his way out in Toronto. As Bob McKenzie has said, there are two things to day about this reality. The first, and perhaps most important, is that Belfour is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, a Stanley Cup champion who is the second winningest goalie of all time behind only Patrick Roy and just one game shy of tying Glenn Hall for third on the all-time games played list for goalies. Not bad for a guy who was never drafted.

The second, though, is that the Toronto Maple Leafs made a huge mistake, perhaps the mother of all errors, when they signed Belfour to a new contract in the summer of 2004. Never should have happen.

The (belated) match report

So obviously the most frequent question I've fielded the past few days has been "well, did they win"? The answer - yes! and how!. The score was Liverpool 3, Everton 1 and it was a dramatic match!

Back from Liverpool

I'm back from my awesome trip to Liverpool and the Derby Match. What a blast! Although the Blues I stayed with weren't very happy with the result, it added so much to the trip to have a strong Blue contingent to add some extra character to the buildup for the game. Better luck next time (hahaha).

I'll post the pics tomorrow after I've had a chance to review them (and remove any compromising evidence).

Have things changed?

In January of this year, Americans overwhelmingly lacked confidence that Iraq would have a stable government in place within the next year, and more than half say that the war has not been worth its cost.

In Liverpool!

Greetings from Liverpool. We have got here OK and have settled in at Ron & Ann’s House. Spent the first day catching up on sleep, touring several public houses, the Albert Dock and Maritime Museum. Tomorrow is Derby Match and we're all very excited - should be a good match. I'll post pics when I get back.

Eta declares permanent ceasefire

The Basque separatist group Eta has declared a permanent ceasefire.

Eta is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and south-west France.

In a statement released to Basque media, the group said its objective now was 'to start a new democratic process in the Basque country'. Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the government was cautious but hopeful about the announcement.

Off to Liverpool!

I'm headed to the UK and Liverpool this evening! My bags are mostly packed and although I can't find my digital camera, I have one I can borrow. Liverpool is going to have a special (stuffed) visitor this year. Next stops: Matthew Street and Anfield for the Derby Match!

It's Tax Time

And as 'tis the season, here's an amusing takeoff for the ratepayer.

FBI 100% Spam-Proof

A senior FBI official has stated that budget constraints are forcing some FBI agents to operate without e-mail accounts.

'As ridiculous as this might sound, we have real money issues right now, and the government is reluctant to give all agents and analysts dot-gov accounts'.

Viagra for Unamorous Stallion

A German court ordered Viagra to be given to a stallion after his new owner claimed he was impotent and refused to pay the full asking price.

The buyer of the horse called Vedor paid just a tenth of the price of over 4,000 euros ($4,900), claiming it had only one testicle and failed to get frisky with a female pony. A vet found the testicle after an examination, said Egbert Simons.

Belarus poll results rejected.

The US and EU have condemned elections in Belarus which international monitors say were severely flawed.

Official results gave President Alexander Lukashenko 82.6% of the vote (with a 92.6% turnout!).

The White House, which has previously labelled Mr Lukashenko a dictator, says it does not accept the results. The EU says it is likely to impose sanctions.

Canada's growing marijuana problem

Tens of thousands of illegal 'grow-ops' remain in Canada. Estimates suggest marijuana may generate up to C$7bn a year in BC, the sunny province thought to be at the heart of the industry.

Remember the poisoned Viktor Yushchenko?

Voters look set to deal President Viktor Yushchenko a rebuff in a parliamentary election next Sunday that could tilt their divided country back toward Russia just 16 months after a revolution that appeared to move Ukraine closer to the West.

It's a bitter twist for Yushchenko, whose Orange Revolution ushered in the very reforms that are making this contest the most democratic in the former Soviet republic's history.

Liverpool won today

An overall good Liverpool display in their victory today against Newcastle. It was a wild match - Jean-Alain Boumsong's red card and the penalty shot it gave were one of the exciting elements. Crouch had a good game, Cisse was lucky not to get sent off (he's got to go) and Kewell looked pretty good again too.

Less than a week until the Derby match!

It's St. Patrick's Day!

And yes the boys (and girls) will be heading to P.J. O'Brien for a few jars of Guinness. The Quinns are again putting on a huge St. Patrick's Day Festival at the St. Lawrence Hall.

U.S. forces launch massive air attack in Iraq

American and Iraqi troops have launched what the U.S. military says is its largest air offensive in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

The assault, dubbed Operation Swarmer, is focused on a 'suspected insurgent operating area' northeast of the city of Samarra and could last for several days, said officials.

The operation came as a new poll showed increasing pessimism about the war in the United States, with the number of people who believe a U.S. victory in Iraq is "likely" falling 40 percentage points over three years.

Reds rain in Goals, Rafa Staying

The Reds hammered Fulham yesterday 5-1, although in the first half the team went ahead after an own goal by Fulham's Brown. Fulham fell to pieces in the 2nd half.

Liverpool's scoring spree probably arrived a week too late for everyone's liking given that they're out of Europe, but with the fine print being prepared on Rafa Benitez's new contract, the timing of the Reds' return to goalscoring form was wholly appropriate.

Happily, Robbie Fowler added his first goal since his return to the club. I'm still not convinced that Morientes proved he still possesses a killer instinct when in the second half from one yard he scored after Fulham failed to clear Djibril Cisse's downward header.

In other Liverpool news, Rafael Benitez today delivered the news all Liverpool supporters wanted to hear when he announced that he's definitely staying at Anfield.

Speculation last week hinted that the Liverpool boss could be tempted by the offer of a managerial position at either Inter Milan or Real Madrid.

Canadian Demographic ShiftCause for Concern.

Canadians need to brace for a major restructuring and slowdown in the country's economy a decade from now, according to research by economic forecasters at Global Insight (Canada) Inc.

The aging of Canada's population means the most the economy can expect to grow in any given year will be less than a measly 2 per cent, they predict. For now, Canada's economic growth potential is about 3 per cent a year -- the most the economy can grow without overheating and causing inflationary pressure.

But when baby boomers retire and the work force stops expanding, the only thing driving the Canadian economy will be productivity growth. And even if productivity were to expand by an optimistic 1.7 per cent a decade from now, potential economic growth would drop to less than 2 per cent, said senior economist Wojciech Szadurski.

'Canada seems to be on the verge of economic transformation driven by demographic change,' he said in a teleconference. 'What is most striking is that employment will stop growing over the next 20 years.'

Google goes to Mars

With some help from Goggle, you can now visit Mars

Wednesday Morning

Today has all the signs of being a fairly uneventful day - although with Hugh, Joanne and Bruno all off on vacation we're somewhat short-handed. Dragging myself out of bed the most aggressive things I'm likely to do today outside of work is get some dry-cleaning done and workout with Humberto. Arriving at work I don't have any client emails and don't have any projects that are deadly pressing. Think I'll go get an espresso.

Talked with Matthew last night which was nice. He's settling into life in NY and getting his bearings at the farm. To remedy his poor selection at the local video store I signed him up with Netflix - I've almost forgiven him for editing the 11 DVD options I had selected although I have insisted that he watch Run, Lola, Run (he noticed the line about subtitles). Matthew please note that your name is correctly spelled (you're SO anal!)

My tickets to Liverpool for the Derby match were confirmed today.

Crap! Berard out for rest of season.

My office hockey pool aspirations took a hit today when it was announced that Bryan Berard is out for the season. Ack!

The Fruitcake Lady Archive.

Find out from the NBC.com Fruitcake Lady the Secret of Christmas. And there's more to be had of her down home honest Southern Advice!

Bush to defend policies on Iraq Today

President Bush renews his push for the hearts and minds of the American people today with the first in a new series of speeches designed to convince a sceptical public that the US has a coherent strategy to win the war in Iraq.

Karina Returns; Reds awful against Gunners

Karina returned from her Venezuelan adventures on Sunday, happily no worse for wear. And she didn't even bring me a little present.

Also on Sunday, having been lucky to bring the game to a draw, Steven Gerrard made a horrible clearance that ended right at the foot of Arsenal's Henry foot just outside the box. Not a pretty game.

Sky View of Winbak Farm

Berlusconi on Corruption Charges

Media Mogul, King of Conflict of Interest and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could face trial in Italy, following a request from prosecutors.

A judge has been asked to indict Mr Berlusconi and lawyer David Mills on corruption charges. It is alleged Mr Mills, who is married to UK Culture Minister Tessa Jowell, was paid a bribe by Mr Berlusconi after giving helpful testimony in two trials.

Matthew was in the Press!

Seems that my humble brother didn't care to share details of his interview with me.

Tracking the Pool

Seb has made his Lemieux retirement trade in the office hockey pool so the challenge is now on for the staff to track him down. I have 27 points to make up. Of course, if Seb hadn't made his sneaky late night one-off trade, he'd be non-competitive. There are about 6 weeks left in the season. My low-margin chance may have received a big boost with Mark Recchi joining the top line of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Liquid Water on Saturn Moon?

NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs that erupt in Yellowstone-like geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The rare occurrence of liquid water so near the surface raises many new questions about the mysterious moon.

'We realize that this is a radical conclusion - that we may have evidence for liquid water within a body so small and so cold,' said Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. 'However, if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms.'

Reds out of Europe

Rafa felt missed chances proved costly as he reflected on seeing his side crash out of the Champions League at the hands of Benfica.

The Liverpool manager couldn't hide his disappointment but wanted to thank the Reds supporters for their magnificent support for the team.

'We are really disappointed but if you analyse the game we created good chances but just couldn't score.' An all too familiar refrain. Grr.

Stirring It Up.

On days like today, I feel like stirring up trouble.

Posting before my Workout

First off, a bit of an explanation on today's image - this is an ink drawing by Toronto artist and OCAD grad Christopher Hutsul that I am thinking about purchasing - it is of the UofT Campus. Chris has a number of downtown Toronto images including Chinatown, Kensington Market and a Road Hockey game.



I packed Karina off to Venezuela last night for five days or so. I'm hoping her packing was sufficient as I have only now looked it up and it's 29'C in Caracas today. Didn't sound like she'd be outside much though.

Today am headed to UofT for the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Awards presentations - Amanda's work over the past year has garnered her some accolades.

I have a ridiculous amount of work to complete today.

Hamas undoes last session

The Hamas-controlled Palestinian parliament cancelled Monday all decisions made during the last session of the outgoing legislature, signalling a confrontational approach to dealing with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party.

The last parliament, dominated by Fatah, gave additional powers to Mr. Abbas - empowering him to appoint a new, nine-judge constitutional court that would have the authority to resolve any dispute between him and the Hamas-dominated parliament or cabinet. The court also could veto legislation deemed to violate the Palestinians' Basic Law, a forerunner to the Palestinian constitution.

The previous parliament also approved last-minute appointments of five Fatah members to key government positions, including head of the Palestinian Authority's personnel department.

Fatah legislators walked out in protest before Monday's vote. They argued that Hamas was breaking the rules by holding the vote and that the last session of the Fatah-controlled parliament was legal.
During the voting, a dozen Fatah gunmen walked near the parliament building in Gaza City, firing into the air.

Leafs' in Trouble

The Toronto Maple Leafs loss again to the Senators on Saturday. This means that the Leafs will have lost 7 games this season to their Ontario rivals - although its hard to call this a rivalry given the differences between the teams' records and performances.

Another couple of losses next week and the Leafs chances of making the playoffs are done. They have dropped five in a row, have gone 3-13-2 in their past 18 games are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the Montreal Canadiens, who occupy the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Expect Quinn to go if the team loses to the Habs on Tuesday - I am of course hoping that McCabe will also be looking to travel.

Reds limp into Second

Liverpool's constant pressure didn't produce any goals as the side was stuck with a draw against Charlton today. Rafa praised his players following the draw with Charlton Athletic and felt they were genuinely unfortunate not to win the game. Argh! Unfortunate? It was miserable to watch!

McCabe Moving?

As contract talks are stalled for Maple Leafs Defenceman Bryan McCabe, the Toronto Star suggests that the pending free agent could be traded before the March 9 deadline. Hooray! For my thoughts on this matter, please refer to my Trade McCabe Page!

The paper suggests that, for a cheaper rate, the Leafs might want to replace McCabe with potential free agents like Buffalo's Jay McKee or Los Angeles' Mattias Norstrom. With McCabe calling free agency 'a once in a lifetime opportunity', it might be time for the Leafs to look at trade options.

Not [entirely] the reason I blog.

An amusing cartoon in today's eye magazine about the use of personal blogs as a means of staying in touch. Frankly, I think my blog improves conversations as it allows me to quickly share interesting items that act as conversation starters.

It does force people to be more interesting than "so what's going on?" though.

Bush Video on Katrina.

Footage obtained by the Associated Press shows Bush being warned about the potential strength of the storm - then explaining that no one had foreseen the storm's strength.

The footage - along with seven days of transcripts of briefings obtained by The Associated Press - show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.

Linked by secure video, Bush expressed a confidence on August 28 that starkly contrasted with the dire warnings his disaster chief and numerous federal, state and local officials provided during the four days before the storm.

Paco don't go!

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is desperately trying to retain the services of coach Paco Herrera beyond the end of this season. The reserve team boss plans to return to Spain for family reasons when his two year Anfield contract expires this summer.

As one of Benitez's trusted lieutenants, his departure would be a huge loss to the backroom staff. Of immeasurable significance is Herrera's close relationship with Benitez. Many have dubbed Paco 'the eyes of Benitez' due to his understanding of how the manager thinks and works.

Consensus on climate change?

The global scientific body on climate change will report soon that only greenhouse gas emissions can explain freak weather patterns.

Simultaneous changes in sea ice, glaciers, droughts, floods, ecosystems, ocean acidification and wildlife migration are taking place. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had previously said gases such as CO2 were 'probably' to blame. "