I've given up and taken refuge in air conditioning.  What's going on in your worlds?

An internal report put together by the World Bank and leaked to the Guardian claims that biofuels may be responsible for up to 75 percent of recent rises in food prices. Even environmental groups haven't gone that far in their estimates.

 More and more corn is ending up in fuel tanks rather than on plates. With soaring food prices high on the agenda for next week's G-8 Summit in Japan, World Bank President Robert Zoellick has been clear that action needs to be taken. "What we are witnessing is not a natural disaster -- a silent tsunami or a perfect storm," he wrote in a Tuesday letter to major Western leaders. "It is a man-made catastrophe, and as such must be fixed by people."

According to a confidential World Bank report leaked to the Guardian on Thursday, Zoellick's organization may have a pretty good idea what that fix might look like: stop producing biofuels.

The report claims that biofuels have driven up global food prices by 75 percent, according to the Guardian report, accounting for more than half of the 140 percent jump in price since 2002 of the food examined by the study. The paper claims that the report, completed in April, was not made public in order to avoid embarrassing US President George W. Bush.

A US analysis recently came to the conclusion that just 3 percent of the food price increases could be attributed to biofuels.

The World Bank on Friday sought to limit the impact of the leak. A spokesman for the organization, who asked not to be identified, told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the report obtained by the Guardian was just one of many internal reports prepared on biofuels and that it was never meant for publication. He pointed out that the World Bank has long agreed that biofuels were a factor in pushing up food prices but said it has declined to put a number on the impact.

Entries for an architectural jelly competition have been shortlisted and will be displayed at the banquet at UCL (University College London), at which the winner will be announced.

The jellies, designed by world leading architects such as Grimshaw and Foster, include the ex-wobbly Millennium Bridge and the Eden Project.

The entries will be judged on innovation, aesthetics and "wobble factor".

Jelly maker Sam Bompas ran through some of the designs.

They also recorded the sound of jelly. :-)

Rot in Hell, Jesse.

Where's your motherf*%&ing flag pin?

Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

A dustup over war policy -- one of the main issues separating the Illinois senator from his Republican opponent, John McCain -- overshadowed Obama's town-hall meeting here with veterans to talk about patriotism and his plans to care for them. Republicans pounced on the chance to characterize Obama as altering one of the core policies that drove his candidacy "for the sake of political expedience." He denied equally forcefully that he was shifting positions.

Arriving in Fargo, Obama hastily called a news conference to discuss news of a sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, but the questioning turned to Iraq policy and his impending trip there.

What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July, the birth of Independence (US style), the formal acquisition of Freedom, than to go to your local Amstgericht (Courthouse)...

...and get divorced!

Yes, Crazy Horse is today officially free from both the constrictions and joys of marriage.  I did not plan this date, it was provided courtesy of the local justice department.  But it feels like fate.

Of course there's a deeply sad side to the story, especially when the marriage began with such joy and wonder.  Asi es la vida.

There is a fair chance Anya and I will be celebrating tonight.  Happy Fourth, all!

Skennah Kowa

Ingrid Betancourt arrived in France today after being held captive for six years in the Colombian jungle, amid claims that a ransom was paid to free her.

The Colombian government said that she was freed in an audacious operation after the military tricked Farc into handing the French-Colombian politician over without a shot being fired.

But quoting "reliable sources", Swiss Radio reported that a ransom was paid of around $20m (£10m).

It said that the US, which had three citizens among those freed, was behind the deal and that "the whole operation afterwards was a set-up".

The station reported that the wife of one of the hostages' guards was the go-between, having been arrested by the Colombian army.

Times Online: Brilliant or a sham? Questions asked over Ingrid Betancourt rescue

The bloodless and apparently brilliant operation to free 15 hostages from the Colombian jungle today became mired in confusion, with some reports even claiming that the entire episode was nothing but a sham to disguise the payment of a ransom.

Swiss public radio cited an unidentified source "close to the events, reliable and tested many times in recent years" as saying the operation had in fact been staged to cover up the fact that the US and Colombians had paid $20 million for their freedom.

The hostages released on Wednesday, including Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician, "were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up," the public broadcaster said...

The report claimed that the US, which had three citizens among the hostages, had been behind the deal.

[Murdoch Alert]

Just found something horrible security-wise in it,  enough to make me consider moving to opera. Look at the address bar, click on the page of paper just to the left then hit the more information button, then view saved passwords, finally the show passwords button. choose the yes option  Now I've got rid of the old version so don't know whether this is a new feature, but what halfwit with far too much faith in human nature thought that that would be a good idea?

Life should consist in at least fifty percent pure waste of time, and the rest doing what you please.