Third in line to British throne, Prince Harry aka Bullet Magnet says of his current front line stint in Afghanistan :

"At the end of the day I like to sort of be a normal person, and for once I think this is about as normal as I'm ever going to get."

Some 'normal'!

Cuts right through

Ukrainian opposition lawmakers blocked the parliament rostrum on Tuesday, protesting authorities' latest efforts to join NATO'S membership action plan. The lawmakers, led by former Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych, attached posters with the inscription "NATO will not pass!" to the presidium and rostrum, and demanded a referendum be held on the issue.

Meanwhile, members of the ruling faction led by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko guarded the presidium to confront the opposition. Due to the confrontation between the two sides, Parliament Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced that Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has decided not to deliver his scheduled address to the parliament.

Times Online: E.ON chief Wulf Bernotat's EU flirting will upset Angela Merkel - European Commission wants E.ON to open its network to rivals, something the German chancellor is firmly opposed to

Wulf Bernotat, the boss of E.ON, has been flirting with the European Commission, breaking ranks with his Continental utility rivals and offering to sell off E.ON's electricity grid.
This could be a huge victory for Neelie Kroes, the European Competition commissioner and an embarassment to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, who has been firm in her opposition to full "unbundling" of the wires and pipes owned by the utility giants.

Do you like making funny progressive videos in the comfort of your own home? Do you like to make them go viral? And most importantly, do you like money?
If all three of these answers were a yes, then go to Lunatics And Liars, where you can win up $10,000 in cash and prizes (including a $5K first prize) to mock Republicans in video form and acquire instant Internet fame...

At the same time, the Euro climbed further to $1.5229.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

Meanwhile, newspapers report (some in shrieking tones) that Hamburg's SPD leader wrote a bitter letter of complaint to the party boss; while the SPD's conservative wing began a campaign against the party leadership decision (apparently with full support from parts of the media, while other media also report that other wings of the party think differently).

Meanwhile in Hessen, still no one wants to accept any coalition offer from anyone.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

Then, a right-wing private TV played a tape as purported evidence that a government campaign manager wants to buy votes from Gypsies, and also reported this to police. But, later, they had to admit it was one of their 'journalists' who called up the Romas -- however, police continues the investigation...

Still, I shall pain myself to put together a diary on the upcoming referendum.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

US Air Force Blocks Access to Many Blogs

The Air Force is tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word "blog" in its web address. It's the latest move in a larger struggle within the military over the value -- and hazards -- of the sites. At least one senior Air Force official calls the squeeze so "utterly stupid, it makes me want to scream."

Until recently, each major command of the Air Force had some control over what sites their troops could visit, the Air Force Times reports. Then the Air Force Network Operations Center, under the service's new "Cyber Command," took over.

Full story in Wired...

Hat tip to American blogger Tom who remarked in his blog, Politics Plus,

Do you believe that they aren't trying to keep airmen in the dark? When they refer to "primary official-use sources" they are referring to the MSM. They want to make sure that all the news the troops get is filtered through the right-wing media. How ironic that the ChickenHawk-in-Chief and his GOP Reich deny First Amendment freedom to the very people tasked with defending it!

Bush/GOP-speak Dictionary: Support the troops=Use as cannon fodder until dead or severely wounded; then discard.

http://www.exile.ru/articles/detail.php?ARTICLE_ID=17066&IBLOCK_ID=35

"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.

If you can watch an animal skinned but alive, the video is here.

Will you buy another fur?