http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php A sometimes Grumpy Old Man and proud of it! COming to you from an iMac in Dublin, Ireland en-us http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/images/style/rantsHeaderPic2.jpg http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php A sometimes Grumpy Old Man and proud of it! COming to you from an iMac in Dublin, Ireland http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P674 The Guardian has long been one of my preferred British newspapers (that is, I appreciate its web presence, since I do not actually ever buy a newspaper). Along with the BBC, it is one of my daily points of call for news and views. Its editorial stance appeals to me, and I regularly find myself approvingly muttering such things as 'well said', 'so true', 'that's it exactly', and so on. The past few days have been no exception as I've watched with horror the unfolding events in Gaza and... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P673 From the BBC: 'The United States vetoed a UN resolution calling on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza. US Ambassador John Bolton said the resolution laid disproportionate blame on Israel for the current crisis. "Passage would have undermined the credibility of the Security Council, which itself must be seen by both sides as an honest broker in the Middle East conflict", he said. Ten Security Council members voted in favour of Qatar's motion, while four... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P672 Despite Israel's worst efforts, the world still revolves, and we are all troubled by puzzling questions. If only there was somewhere we could go for some answers. There is. Have you ever asked —What does "OK" stand for? Which will keep you drier, running through the rain or walking? If Teflon is nonsticky, how do they get it to stick to the pan? Why do we say a "pair of pants" when there's only one of them? Is the opposite of "disgruntled"... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P671 As expected, big, bully-boy, macho Israel has jerked its collective knee and responded out of all proportion to the capture of its soldiers on the Lebanese border. First it repeats its Gaza tactics and destroys bridges, then blasts targets inside Lebanon, then bombs Beirut airport, then imposes a blockade. I ask you: if this isn't a disproportionate response, then what is? The tone of official Israeli statements says it all. Basically, what this reprehensible regime is saying to its... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P670 I've just got an email from a regular reader of Jim's Rants with a link to a hilarious video which I just have to share. It's called The Bush Pilot, it comes from a German TV network, and you'll find it here. Enjoy! (I know I did, but then I'm bound to get a kick out of anything that pokes fun at George W Bush.) http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P669 Oh dear! How will the Israelis respond to Hezbollah's capture of two soldiers in a raid across the Israel/Lebanon border? Already, the bellicose noises coming out of Tel Aviv sound ominous. Not content with pointing the finger at Syria following the soldier kidnapping (by the way, how come that was a 'kidnapping', but this time it's a 'capture'?), now Israel are holding the Lebanese government responsible for this latest development. But that isn't all, of course. Since Hezbollah enjoys... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P668 I'm going to have to make occasional checks on F1 web sites apart from just doing so leading up to and following races. It was just on a whim that I opened BBC's F1 site and saw the news. McLaren have released Juan Pablo Montoya from his contract with immediate effect. His place will be taken by Pedro de la Rosa for the rest of this season. The report says that Juan Pablo announced last weekend that he was moving to Nascar, but this is the first I heard about it. I must say I'll miss JP.... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P667 Once again it's thanks to the great and the good John Gruber at Daring Fireball that I've discovered another super site. This time it's The Language Log, whose main contributors Mark Liberman and Geoffrey K. Pullum provide a rich menu of razor-sharp articles on matters linguistic. Their fine balance of humour, erudition and pedantry strikes just the right note with someone such as I. It's a pity I came across it at 2.00 in the morning. Since he's the one who brought me there in the first... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P666 The US and Canada, both members of the World Heritage Committee, have apparently won the day with their lobbying against moves to cut greenhouse emissions as a means to protect World Heritage sites under threat from climate change. This report from the Climate Justice Programme goes back to March this year, and rounds on the Bush administration for yet another instance of its opposition to any moves to combat climate change. What is most reprehensible about the US position is that they... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P665 This news report on the good old BBC makes interesting reading. It's a really good example of just how well the Israelis have studied at the Academy of Bushspeak. You know Bushspeak, don't you? That's the new language which magically changes the course of events before your very eyes (or ears, I suppose it should be). Remember way back when Iraq was originally going to be invaded because Saddam Hussein just had to be got rid of, then that changed to needing to prevent nasty Saddam using... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P664 What an amazing match! An exciting, incident-packed, nail-biting match ended with Italy coming out winners against France 5-3 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time. But, talk about controversy! There can be absolutely no doubt whatever that Zinedine Zidane, in the last match of his international career, totally deserved to be sent off for his unforgiveable head-butt-on-the-chest on Marco Materazzi, who had an extraordinarily eventful evening and is my Man of the Match.... http://jimbox.homedns.org/rants/weblog.php?id=P663 All the pre-match talk was that we were in for as great contest, with two young players with very different styles, each at the top of their form. There was pressure on both, Roger Federer going for his fourth Wimbledon title in a row, and Rafael ('Rafa') Nadal on a roll from beating his opponent in the French Open and having got the better of him four times already this year. But the significant point about Nadal's successes is that they were all on clay, while there had to be some doubt as...