Glasgow Attack

Two "Asian" men rammed a Jeep Cherokee into the main terminal at Glasgow airport with the vehicle bursting into flames. The men in the car and two others are reported to be under arrest by Strathclyde police. Eye witnesses say that this was no accident and that the driver deliberately swung the car into the entry way. According to Sky News, one witness said that the men were "throwing petrol around".

Who is behind this attack, what their motive might be, whether it is part of some larger events, if it is related to the failed London bomb attacks, if there is some religious element (Heaven knows what), or if anyone named "Mohammad" is involved remains an utter mystery and will remain so for as long as the major media outlets can manage.

Update: Sky News is now reporting that only two men have been arrested.

Update: Witness tells Sky News that one of the suspects shouted "Allah" while attacking a policemen.

Update: Fox News has reported that Britain's threat level has been raised to "critical", meaning that another attack is thought imminent. The BBC confirms.

Update: The BBC is reporting that two people have been detained in Cheshire in connection with the bombings in Glasgow & London. Looks as if the two incidents are part of the same plot.

Update: The Jihadist who was taken to hospital in critical condition from severe burns was wearing a suicide bomb belt.

Update: CNN reports that there may be a third Jihadist in the Jeep. Also, the burns of the bomb belt terrorist are explained:

Witness Jackie Kennedy told the BBC that after the crash, a passenger in the Jeep doused himself with fuel from a can and ignited it, then got out of the vehicle. Airport police used fire extinguishers on him, and he fell to the ground, she said.

"I realized that this was obviously deliberately done -- the fact that the guy was in flames and seemed to be enjoying himself, even smiling," Kennedy told the BBC.

How anyone can read this and think it's no problem if these madmen get their hands on nuclear weapons is beyond me.

Catch and Release

According to ABC News, British police have identified the suspect and (surprise!) it isn't a rogue IRA operative or Mafia hit man, but is Al Qaeda (emphasis added):

British police have a "crystal clear" picture of the man who drove the bomb-rigged silver Mercedes outside a London nightclub, and officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com he bears "a close resemblance" to a man arrested by police in connection with another bomb plot but released for lack of evidence.

Officials say the suspect had been taken into custody in connection with the case of al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot (pictured), who was convicted of orchestrating a vehicle bomb plot involving targets in London, New York, Newark, N.J. and Washington, D.C.

And some people can't understand why it's a bad idea to use the police and civilian courts to solve what is a military problem.

Robotaser

Police robots with tasers? Could be worse.

Ground Force

An impressive shot the the International Space Station taken from the ground-- even more impressive when you learn that it was taken by a load of high school students.

London Bombing Attempt

Authorities in London have neutralised a car bomb in the Haymarket. Planted outside of the Tiger Tiger nightclub, which has a maximum capacity of 1700, a green metallic Mercedes packed with petrol, propane and nails was discovered by an ambulance crew when it started emitting smoke at about 1:30 AM. Police destroyed the vehicle with a controlled explosion and a second car in Park Lane is under investigation.

This bomb smells so heavily of Al Qaeda that even the BBC can't skirt around the obvious, though the AP does a valiant effort by reporting that "Police were also investigating the possibility that the planned attack could have been criminal in nature."

Uh, yeah.

My impression is that this happening within two days of Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister is no coincidence and that the Jihadis were hoping to pull a Madrid by killing hundreds, if not thousands within a stone's throw of Piccadilly Circus before Mr. Brown had a chance to finish unpacking his underwear at No. 10. Hopefully this misfire will turn into a backfire that will make Mr. Brown declare what his predecessor could never bring himself to do, which is that what is happening on the streets of Britain is nothing less than enemy action in time of war and that those who carry these acts out, those who aid them, and those who support their goals are nothing less than enemy agents or traitors to be treated accordingly..

But I'm not holding my breath.

Update: In a concerted effort to sweep things under the carpet, AP (no surprise here) is reporting that terror links were "not found," though a closer reading indicates that there isn't any positive evidence linking the bomb to specific terrorist suspects. It's important to keep an open mind in these situations, but until the police put the finger on someone who isn't named Mohammad, I'm leaving this in the Jihad basket.

Update: Fleet street has been closed off because of a third suspicious vehicle.

Update: CBS claims to have uncovered a connection to a posting on a Jihadist web site.

The Cat Came Back

Why I don't have a cat.

Revenge of the Sushi

Before


After

In an unprecedented example of lunch gone horribly wrong, an island in Japan has been literally eaten by crustaceans.

Ganime was unavailable for comment.

Odd Jobs

Mr. Tony Blair has officially resigned as Prime Minister and Member of Parliament.

Seeing as he'll have some time on his hands and a reduced income now, I'd like Mr. Blair to know that I could do with a baby sitter on Mondays and there's some work needing done in the garden, so if he'd like to make a couple of extra quid, tell him to give me a ring.

Big Brother Want You To Take Shorter Showers

I'd love to see the marketing strategy on this one. It's a device for your shower that shuts off the water after twelve minutes whether you want it to or not. Amazingly, the Australian company that makes these things expects you to install one voluntarily and pay for the privilege.

Aside from the niche miser-and-masochist market, I can't see this one going anywhere, though I have no doubt that the Ministry of Busybodies Intent On Controlling Every Minuscule Aspect Of Everyone's Lives On General Principles will be jumping up and down with glee at the idea of having these Orwellian things required by law.

C5 Upgrade

Remember the painfully awful Sinclair C5 of the 1980s? Under-engineered, underpowered, and under-whelming; If only Sir Clive had swapped that piddly 12-volt motor for a dirty big jet engine, it might have been a different story.

Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose

From parody to policy was only a matter of time, it seems.

William Wallace, Call Your Service

Scotland: A nation of an indomitable people whose proud heritage of fighting spirit has become a banner of liberty throughout the world.

Scotland: Land of the free and home of the brave.

Scotland: A people who will stand up for what is rightfully theirs even in the face of hopeless odds.

Scotland: Where you now need a licence for your sporran.

God help us all.

I Don't Think That Word Means What You Think It Means

From the BBC:

The EU's foreign policy chief has described as "constructive" talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator.

That's "constructive" as in "we've given Iran all the time it needs to build a bomb and haven't made them pay any price for such insanity whatsoever."

Future Tea

Thought of food pills too depressing? Stand by for tea pills.

Now that's depressing.

Robopicker

One side effect of the immigration debate in the United States is that fruit growers, nervous about their supply of cheap Latin American labour. are starting to look at robots to take up the slack.

I don't have much interest in the US immigration issue in general (Solving the problem of Mexican incursions is infinitely preferable to that of dealing with Jihadi-inclined Muslims), but it's a beautiful example of how technological change works. I have no doubt that if it weren't for the large influx of illegal workers, we'd have seen these machines being developed a generation ago.

Bunsen Burner Barman

In the past few years something called "molecular gastronomy" has become all the rage in the same way that nouveau cuisine of a generation ago taught diners that you can drop a packet on a meal and still come away starving.

Basically, molecular gastronomy is cooking combined with chemistry that translates into dishes that are far too over-prepared. When most people hear the word "Frankenfood" they think of genetically modified crops. I think of a chef with a test tube and an Erlenmeyer flask churning out repellent foamed sauces to go on foodstuffs that resemble nothing meant for the human pallet in either taste or texture.

Not content with ruining people's dinner at a premium price, kitchen sadism has spread to the quiet refuge of the lounge, where there is now something that could be called molecular bartending, of which the Times has a frightening example:

“Take the Super Soda, for example. Really it’s a classic Tom Collins,” (says Tony Conigliari of London's Shochu Lounge), putting in front of me a tall glass of viscous liquid with green bubbles suspended in it. Alongside it is a paper perfume swatch. What he has done, he explains, is re-created the notes of the perfume – Soda by Comme des Garçons – by cooking lemon grass, lime and geranium essence in a vacuum with Tanqueray, lemon juice, sugar and gelling agents, and then stirred in frozen grapes and small pearls that he has made by syringing liquid cinnamon and nutmeg into a calcium base. At least I think that’s what he said. The result is like no Tom Collins I’ve tasted. You smell the perfume swatch and take a sip.

Then dash for the gents before the gag reflex becomes overpowering.

We used to laugh at the Romans with their hummingbird tongues dipped in honey, but 21^st century Britain has definitely done them one up in the decadence stakes. I remember when a cocktail was having a splash of tonic and in your gin and bitters. And if you were really on the cutting edge of depravity you might ask the barman if you could have a piece of ice with it.

If no one was looking, of course.

Mars Plan Marred

Looks like there aren't any takers for ESA's simulated Mars mission.

Can't imagine why. Seventeen months locked up in a tin can with no booze, no fags, no showers, nothing but freeze-dried meals and sharing a berth with some nit who listens to the Moody Blues at two in the morning; what's not to love?

Talking to Death

Iran now has enough nuclear material (that we know of) to construct two fission bombs.

Looks like all that talking did the job-- for the Mullahs.

Oh, That Invasion!

Al Reuters has a story about a demand request that Spain reverse the Reconquista give descendants of Muslims expelled in the 17^th century preferential immigration status. This is allegedly meant to address an "injustice" (i.e. Losing the war).

Not surprisingly, Al Reuters doesn't mention that pesky little Muslim invasion of Spain in the 8^th century until paragraph eleven-- and then only in passing.

The Gulf

Apparently the Royal Navy isn't the only service that the Iranians have attacked. In 2004, the mullahacracy tried to capture an Australian boarding party, but that one never made the headlines. Why?

Answer: They fought back and won.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald,

Quoting a "military source", BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner reported Iranian forces made a concerted attempt to seize a boarding party from the Royal Australian Navy and that the Australians "were having none of it".

"The BBC has been told the Australians re-boarded the vessel they had just searched," Gardner reports, "aimed their machine guns at the approaching Iranians, and warned them to back off, using what was said to be 'highly colourful language'.

Our sources inform us that the Royal Navy has requested a shipment of spines from the RAN.

And a Pint of Yogurt, Please

British police are considering equipping officers with tiny milk floats personal electric scooters capable of reaching speeds comparable to that of a clapped-out push bike.

The cunning of this scheme is breathtaking. Criminals will be so helpless with laughter that the police will be able to scoop them up like dead flies.

Are Nazis Involved?

From the Telegraph:

Archaeologist sparks hunt for Holy Grail

Dr. Henry Jones was unavailable for comment.

Mata Hari, Call Your Service

The BBC has hit rock bottom and started to dig. From the Telegraph comes this innocent little BBC request-- In a time of war, mind you (emphasis added):

Politicians reacted in disbelief to the revelation that for over two hours yesterday, the BBC News website carried a request for people in Iraq to report on troop movements.

The request was removed from the website after it sparked furious protests that the corporation was endangering the lives of British servicemen and women.

But according to accounts last night, a story on a major operation by US and Iraqi troops against al-Qa'eda somewhere north of Baghdad contained an extraordinary request for information about the movement of troops.

Last night the BBC confirmed the wording of the request was: "Are you in Iraq? Have you seen any troop movements? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC, you can do so using the form below."

No doubt the BBC would have been happy if anyone had cared to send along any photographs, maps, battle plans, and code books they'd happened to come across.

To paraphrase an old Cold War quote, If the BBC was working for the other side, what would it do differently?

Sim Mars

The European Space Agency is calling for volunteers to be sealed inside a "spaceship" for 17 months to simulate a trip to Mars. According to the BBC,

With the exception of weightlessness and radiation, the crew will experience most other aspects of long-haul space travel, such as cramped conditions, a high workload, lack of privacy, and limited supplies.

I'm confused. Are they simulating space travel or working as a code writer at Microsoft?

BBC Bias

They discuss issues from the point of view that the earth is flat. If someone says the earth is round, they think this person is an extremist. That's what it's like for someone with my right-of-centre views working inside the BBC.

Jeff Randall, editor-at-large of The Daily Telegraph on BBC bias

A report has determined that the BBC has a distinct left-wing bias.

The main evidence of this is that when the Director General said that he was unaware of any such bias, the entire BBC staff started coughing, whistling and staring off into corners.

Guinness Dublin Brewery May Close

NNNOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Gingerism

From Out-Law.com:

Gingerism in the workplace could form the basis of formal grievances or constructive dismissal cases, an employment lawyer has warned. The news comes in the wake of one Newcastle family having to move house because of abuse about its members' red hair.

That's it. Civilisation's kaput. If you want me, I'll be waiting for the apes to take over.

Swings & Roundabouts

An Airbus A380 Superjumbo has been purchased for use as a private jet by an individual "not from Europe or the US" (*Cough* Saudi Arabia *Cough*).

The idea of a flying barn like the A380 being converted into a jumped-up Gulfstream strikes me as gauche, vulgar, and stinks to high heaven of the nouveau riche. On the other hand, it's managed to send unnamed "environmental groups" (*Cough* The BBC *Cough*) into a hissy fit.

And so balance is restored.

Passing of an Era

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, last of the transatlantic liners, has been sold to Dubai, where she will be converted into a floating hotel in 2009.

I suppose that many people, though saddened to see her leave service, will at least take solace that she's been spared the breaker's yard-- even if it means becoming a tourist attraction at a Gulf resort. For me, I'd rather see her broken up. I've never cared for the idea of museum ships; and less for the floating hotel. A ship is a living thing that is only truly what she is when she is going about her business on the sea. I'll be the first to admit that I love being able to see and even walk the decks of such great vessels as HMS Victory, the Cutty Sark, Gypsy Moth IV, or HMS Belfast, but there is also something profoundly sad about them in dry dock or permanently tethered to some quay where they are like aging race horses that are set out to pasture. It's even worse when some preserved vessel catches fire or capsizes at her moorings as has happened in the past and recently.

No, unless a ship has some incredible historic importance, such as with Victory (which is still a commissioned warship, by the way), I can't help feeling that it is better for for her to fade with dignity into history.

Cost of Living

London has been declared the second most expensive city in the world.

Come on, London! Don't stand for this. Call yourself a world capital? Get out there. Jack up those prices. Raise those rates.

No. 1! No. 1! No. 1!

Apostate in Seattle

Is this headline real or not?

Episcopal Church Appoints First Openly-Muslim Bishop

The answer is no, then damn-near yes.

What's the difference between parody and reality? Four years.

Via Mark Steyn at the Corner.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day from Ephemeral Isle

Conundrum

From The Times:

Tony Blair is preparing to cave in to pressure to sign up Britain to a sweeping new human rights charter.

The prime minister is ready to do a deal over the European charter of fundamental rights this week amid fears that plans for a treaty to replace the failed European Union constitution will collapse if he refuses to compromise.

So, Mr. Blair is going to do something that nobody wants in order to prevent the failure of something that nobody wants.

Next up: I'm going to Brillo pad that gash in my arm to prevent it from not getting infected.

With This Diode, I Thee Wed

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Robot to act as MC at S Korean wedding

Another triumph for the robovicar programme!

Top & Bottom

The Times has a very helpful list of the Top Ten Father's Day gifts that I sincerely hope I will not be receiving on Sunday.

It's a bit of a toss up, but I think the sheer terror of blasting down country roads in the jet-powered go-cart marginally beats the nauseating horror of the home fizzy lager dispenser.

Social Space Justice

The European aerospace consortium EADS Astrium is set to enter the space tourism race with its own four-passenger suborbital craft, but this is not sitting well with the European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen.

It's only for the super rich, which is against my social convictions.

Especially if it means that the proles will be able to afford a go one day. It should be reserved for the exclusive use of Inner Party members Eurocrats and the self-selected progressive elite, which is the natural order of things.

Underpants Bureaucrats

Please, dear God, let this be a joke.

Dr. Van Helsing, Call Your Service

Global warming (the 21^st century's answer to nuclear testing) has been blamed for everything from hurricane Katrina to breeding cats, but it takes some real artistry to finger it for vampire moths.

You're Never Too Young

Children under ten are having their DNA samples added to the national criminal database.

Remember, citizens, there are only two types of people in the Blair New World: Criminals and criminals who haven't been rounded up yet.

Tipple of Choice

Russian men have taken to drinking aftershave.

As opposed to those half-litre bottles of vodka with the foil tops that just taste like it.

Just Imagine

The one and only science fiction musical comedy.

The reason why is self-evident.

Midget Horn

Sometimes comment is simply not necessary

Robinson Crusoe on Mars