Top Diaries

I didn't know they migrated. But you wouldn't expect them to get through a Finnish winter!

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 01:27:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mind a total blank (none / 1)

I'm being stupid. It's a pheasant, not a peacock. And I presume it winter roosts.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 02:37:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mind a total blank (none / 1)

Yup, that sounds more like it! Here they nest in February-March. The female keeps to the nest, the male faces the world and gives alarm calls.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 03:42:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mind a total blank (none / 1)

This is a subject about which I am ignorant, and no amount of googling has enlightened me as to the winter habits of Finnish pheasants. And try saying that when you've got a mouthful of cheddar.

But I am sure to be educated here by someone with a diploma from the Nye School of Pheasantry.

I wonder if we have any twitchers here? Thursday Bird Spotting blog anyone?

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:07:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mind a total blank (none / 1)

I'm not an expert, but afaik they don't migrate. They're ground birds (feeding roosting nesting), only flying to escape danger, and they usually stay under the cover of long grass, scrub, hedges, etc, (with the exception of the male during nesting). To winter they'd need cover of that kind. Perhaps in colder climates they do migrate short distances..?

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Apr 18th, 2008 at 01:42:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

Grumpy Jr is doing the singing tonight. <sigh>

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 03:08:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Mine eyes have seen the Glory........ (4.00 / 5)

Welcome to America Mr. Pope.

Hey, Grandma Moses started late!

by LEP on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 01:24:12 PM EST

Young singing and dancing nuns. (4.00 / 2)

I told you this was a good place to meet chicks.

Hey, Grandma Moses started late!

by LEP on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 01:40:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Young singing and dancing nuns. (4.00 / 3)

Ugh again. It took me two hours, as opposed to the normal 45 minutes, to get to work because of this nonsense. Standing on a train with monks and nuns, listening to youth leaders telling teenagers, "A Holy Life is a Happy Life!" -- not fun.

When are they carting him up to New York?

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 01:54:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Young singing and dancing nuns. (4.00 / 3)

I want a headscarf ban in DC!

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 02:15:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Young singing and dancing nuns. (none / 1)

Why? I want a headscarf requirement!

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 06:52:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Something is wrong with the layout.

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

by poemless on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 01:57:29 PM EST

BBC NEWS | Politics | MP 'to quit government over tax'

Should be fixed. Firefox fixes some errors all on its own, so the layout looked OK to me.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 02:01:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Brown trousers for the PM (4.00 / 3)

A junior member of the government has told colleagues she is going to resign in protest at the abolition of the 10p tax rate, the BBC has learned.
Angela Smith, parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Yvette Cooper, told them she was leaving her post.
PPS is an unpaid position seen as the first rung on the government ladder.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 01:59:56 PM EST

Re: Brown trousers for the PM (4.00 / 2)

BBC News | MP decides not to quit government

Turns out not to be so. Pity.

Member of the Anti-Fabulousness League since 1987.

by Ephemera on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 04:36:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brown trousers for the PM (none / 1)

Preassure has been applied no doubt

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 04:55:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brown trousers for the PM (none / 0)

I've just been doing a little reading, and it turns out her current seat, Sheffield Hillsborough, is due to be abolished at the next election. I dare say that her little flirtation with the front pages has secured her removal to another seat when the time comes. Though of course this will no doubt look good in her political CV, so to speak.

Member of the Anti-Fabulousness League since 1987.

by Ephemera on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:11:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Brown trousers for the PM (none / 0)

either that or been toold to get back in line, or there's no chance of another seat.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:25:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

No impending collapse? (none / 1)

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

``You have a generalized commodity bubble due to commodities having become an asset class that institutions use to an increasing extent,'' Soros said today at an event sponsored by the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. ``On top of that you have specific factors that create the relative shortage of oil and, now, also food.''
...He said today that because authorities know how to respond to avert financial collapse, ``there's no question of a replay of the 1930s.''

Soros, 77, earned an estimated $2.9 billion last year, ranking second after John Paulson, founder of New York-based Paulson & Co., according to Institutional Investor's Alpha Magazine.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 04:43:35 PM EST

Not really a disappointment? (none / 1)

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Merrill Lynch & Co. posted its third straight quarterly loss and said it will cut about 3,000 more jobs after the credit-market seizure forced the investment bank to write down about $6.5 billion of debt.
The smaller-than-estimated charge helped push Merrill shares up as much as 4.7 percent. Analysts including Roger Freeman of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. had predicted markdowns of as much as $8 billion. The first-quarter net loss of $1.96 billion, or $2.19 a share, compared with earnings of $2.16 billion, or $2.26, a year earlier, Merrill said.
It's ``not really a disappointment even though they missed on the earnings line,'' said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial Group in Boston. ``This is well within the range of expectations.''

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 04:45:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

More deterioration in trade? (none / 0)

Bloomberg.com: News

Euro-area shipments to the U.S., which dropped in 2007 for the first time in four years, were flat at 15.4 billion euros ($24.6 billion) in the first month of 2008, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said today. Exports to the U.K. rose 5 percent, while sales to Russia and China jumped 25 percent.
The euro reached a record near $1.60 against the dollar yesterday after European inflation data lessened the prospect of a European Central Bank interest-rate cut. That is adding to pressure on manufacturers trying to ship products into a U.S. economy teetering on the brink of a recession. France's Airbus this week said the euro's level is ``becoming unbearable.''
``A lot of the growth in the euro zone has been very much dominated by Germany and in particular trade,'' said Mitul Kotecha, head of foreign-exchange research at Calyon in London. ``Going forward, it's going to be quite risky. The reality is we're going to see some deterioration in trade and the strong euro is going to start to play a more negative part.''

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 04:51:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: More deterioration in trade? (none / 1)

The title of the last article: "European January Exports to U.S. Flat After 2007 Drop". While it rose towards other trading partners. Focus...

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:08:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: More deterioration in trade? (none / 1)

From the original Eurostat press release [pdf!]:

The first estimate for the euro area (EA15) trade balance with the rest of the world in February 2008 gave a 0.8 bn euro surplus, compared with -1.6 bn in February 2007. The January 20082 balance was -11.0 bn, compared with -7.3 bn in January 2007. In February 2008 compared with January 2008, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 2.0% while imports fell by 0.4%.

But according to analysts sitting in London, we should be concerned that our exports to one country... didn't decrease despite the exchange rate worsening.

More - more improvements:

The first estimate for the February 2008 extra-EU27 trade balance was a deficit of 15.3 bn euro, compared with -17.5 bn in February 2007. In January 20082, the balance was -31.2 bn, compared with -26.0 bn in January 2007. In February 2008 compared with January 2008, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 3.3% while imports fell by 0.7%.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:19:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: More deterioration in trade? (4.00 / 3)

Europe. Is. Doomed.

Oh sorry - was there some positive news? I wasn't paying attention.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 08:47:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: More deterioration in trade? (4.00 / 2)

And meanwhile, inflation (CPI increase, that is) is at 3.6 in the Eurozone and at 4 in the U.S. Or, as the Independent put it yesterday:

Eurozone inflation soars while US price rises steady

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 10:53:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Betting your money on it (none / 1)

Contrasting the dribble of denial and spin in the above three quoted articles:

Bloomberg.com: News

Pickens, 79, the founder and chairman of Dallas-based BP Capital LLC, said today in a speech at Georgetown University that the price of crude will only continue to climb and demand will eventually be dampened.
``The position is long, not short,'' Pickens told reporters after his speech. ``I covered the short position, it was a mistake on my part. We missed.''
...Pickens said he thought oil was approaching $125 a barrel. Oil will eventually reach $150 per barrel, he said, while cautioning ``I won't be investing in $150 oil.''
...World oil supplies won't exceed 85 million barrels a day because of high depletion rates of existing wells, he said in his speech. This supports his belief in a climbing price.
...Pickens endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain, while criticizing his energy policies. Recent McCain proposals to stop putting oil into the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve and to suspend a gasoline tax for the summer wouldn't be good for the country, Pickens said.
``I'm hoping he will become better informed and come up with better ideas about energy than he has up to now,'' he said.
He plans to invest $10 billion in 4,000 megawatts of wind projects within the next several years.
``We are going to put a lot of money into wind next month,'' Pickens said, adding he expects at least a 25 percent return on his investment.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 04:55:41 PM EST

Même des amateurs de hockey de l'extérieur du Québec préfèrent écouter RDS, qu'ils peuvent obtenir pour quelques dollars mois.
«Regarder le match à RDS me donne l'impression d'être de retour au Québec», affirme John Stevens, un professeur à la retraite de London, en Ontario, qui ajoute que des amis se joignent à lui même s'ils ne comprennent pas un mot de la description.
«Il n'y a rien comme Pierre Houde quand il crie: Et le but»
RDS affirme avoir 700 000 abonnés à l'extérieur du Québec, qui ne sont pas inclus dans le calcul des cotes d'écoute.
Stephen Carrier, de son côté, <BOLD>préfère RDS d'abord parce qu'il n'y a pas de Don Cherry, qu'il trouve trop critique, surtout à l'endroit des francophones.</BOLD>

www.cyberpresse.ca

by zoe on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:20:36 PM EST

that's for redstar

by zoe on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 05:21:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thursday Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

I dunno, maybe this isn't as funny to people who haven't watched lots of Al-Manar and various Iraqi Shi'ite TV stations, but it just cracks me up.

Sadr's penguins:

H/T to abu muqawama, who notes that "Sadr is very popular in both southern Iraq and the FAR south." (Groan. Those counterinsurgency guys are just a laugh riot.)

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 06:38:16 PM EST

It must be late, I almost posted a question as to what he means with "FAR south"...

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 06:42:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

It got me giggling.
Although it's kind of hypnotic at points too...

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 06:59:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Gwyneth Dunwoody MP head of the UK transport comittee has died.

no link as yet

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 06:54:40 PM EST

One more defender of the status of Parliament gone. Not good.

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 07:00:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Defender of the status of Parliament?

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 07:05:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

BBC NEWS | Politics | MP Gwyneth Dunwoody dies aged 77

As well as chairing the transport select committee, Ms Dunwoody was known as a prominent and much admired fighter for backbenchers' rights.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 07:09:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ah, right on.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 07:15:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

She was one of the good people - notoriously and entertainingly sarcastic anmd cutting in committee, she was known for terrifying her victims and having grown men squirming in their seats.

Unfortunately Blair and Brown never gave her much of a job where she could make changes, so it was all very British - good TV, but ineffectual.

Even so - she'll be missed.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 08:51:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well, yes, but the Very Serious People rules apply even in good ol' Blighty. Can't expect the non-insane to be given a seat at the big kids' table.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 09:01:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Link: MP Gwyneth Dunwoody dies aged 77

I liked her since seeing her give somebody a mauling during a committee hearing. Real shame.

Member of the Anti-Fabulousness League since 1987.

by Ephemera on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 07:06:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Having done my 40 hours, I'm off tomorrow (yay!). I'd been doing 60-hour weeks since the start of the year, so being back on my regular schedule feels odd.

I suppose I could watch the news in hopes of the other networks slamming ABC for Chuckie Gibson and George Snuffleufagus's hit job on Obama and Clinton last night, but...well, no, better to not waste the energy required to lift the remote.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 07:04:56 PM EST

Our nightmare: The Day The Internet Stood Still

by das monde on Thu Apr 17th, 2008 at 09:03:00 PM EST