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Is Movember a big hit in Ireland?  I'm doing it over here in Oz and holey cheeses I am over it and can't wait for November 30th.

Folks, just been on the wireless that an Irish tourist is missing off the coast of Mackay in Central Queensland over here.  They were on a trawler when they fell overboard.  Search was called off at last light today and will be resumed in the morning.  I don't know the full details yet.
I worked in that area for a few months and unfortunately the waters around that part are full of nasties, eg sharks, salties and irukanji.  Not looking good.

And I thought a 10 minute hold up in  Maghera Street in Kilrea on a wet Wednesday afternoon when some clown decides to do a u-turn at Donaghy's on his MF35 with cattle trailer in tow was an issue...

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Have your say: China
Hundreds of trucks heading for Beijing on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway have been at a standstill because of roadworks in the capital.

Small traffic accidents or broken-down cars are aggravating the congestion which started on August 14.

But those affected have been taking the disruption in their stride.

Drivers have been playing chess or cards, with some joking "concerts should be held at each congested area every weekend, to alleviate drivers' homesickness".

And local residents have been benefiting from the queue too by setting up temporary stalls selling food and drink to the car owners.

There has been anger that some vendors have been making a small fortune by overcharging drivers for items including noodles and hot water.

Around 400 police officers are at the scene 24 hours a day to make sure the situation stays calm.

It is hoped the roadworks will be completed by the end of September but congestion and road safety are a huge concern for Chinese motorists.

Traffic jams have been frequent since May due to the rapid increase of trucks to a daily peak of about 17,000.

Niu Fengrui, director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times poor road planning was part of the problem: "If there's no traffic jam in the city, that would be news.

"Our government should pick up the pace of urban infrastructure construction and spend some of its budget."

http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/blog/jnoubiyeh/despised-state-israel-cannot-survive-long-0

The NRL has today stripped the Melbourne Storm of the 2007 and 2009 Telstra Premierships, the Minor Premierships of 2006-8 and of its 2010 competition points after confirming a series of salary cap breaches amounting to at least $1.7m over five years.

The club will lose all competition points earned to date in 2010 and also the right to accumulate points going forward in 2010 (competition tables will record wins and losses but the club will not be awarded competition points on the basis of any wins). These measures are effective as of today.

The club has furthermore been fined $500,000 and will be forced to return $1.1m in prize-money with the prize-money being distributed evenly among the other fifteen clubs.

Individual awards by players will continue to be recognised but records will be adjusted to show that the Premiership is not recognised even though the result cannot be overturned. Neither Manly nor Parramatta will assume the Premiership titles in their respective years.


The Storm's Chairman and Chief Executive met with the NRL in Sydney today to confirm the extent of the breaches uncovered by NRL Salary Cap Auditor Ian Schubert and his audit team.

The investigations have revealed the Storm maintained a dual contract system and the club has today confirmed that side letters promising extra payments were stored in a secret file at the home of the Chief Executive.

The accounts were structured in such a way that it would appear the commitments were not apparent to either the Melbourne Storm Board or its owners.

The NRL has uncovered breaches estimated to be in excess of $1.7million over five years, around $400,000 in 2009 and with a projected breach of $700,000 in 2010.

While the amount itself is cause for concern, the most damning indictment is the systematic attempt by persons within the club to conceal payments from the Salary Cap auditor and, it would now seem certain from the club's Board and from its owners, on an ongoing basis," Mr Gallop said.

"It was through this system that they were able to attract and retain some of the biggest names in Rugby League.

"In doing so they have let down the game, the players and the fans of the Melbourne Storm.

"Clearly there were some individuals who knew what was going on and perhaps many who did not.

"By nature, that means innocent parties will suffer as a result of this punishment but the persons responsible are those who constructed the scheme and anyone who knowingly signed a false statutory declaration to deceive the game.

"It would be unfair now on the players and fans of every other club in the competition to allow the Storm to enter this year's finals series or to retain the titles they won.

"As a game we will do all we can to restore the faith of each of those parties but there is no alternative now but to deal with the situation that has been so deliberately engineered.

"As was the case with Canterbury after 2002, the only other instance in which we have seen such an elaborate and contrived set of accounts, there is the chance for the club to begin a rebuilding process with the fans and the game by the way it conducts itself in the weeks and months ahead.

"A significant step in that process has been the way the Melbourne Board has reacted to the information the Salary Cap team tabled this week.

"Rather than look to conceal the activities, the Board has cooperated fully and we have been informed that the club's owners, News Limited, have now ordered a full forensic examination of all club accounts.

"It should be pointed out that, as owners of the club, News Limited has only been made aware of the investigation in recent days.

"Ian Schubert and his assistant Jamie L'Oste Brown have been collecting information in relation to this process for some time and their commitment to that process deserves considerable respect.

"Salary cap investigation is among the most difficult and in many ways least rewarding roles in the game but, despite the thoughts of some critics, there is universal acceptance of the importance of the cap and of the contribution it has made to the most successful era in the game's history.

"In truth, this issue is not so much about the Salary Cap but the simple reality of cheating the rules as they stand at any time. Everyone knew the rules, particularly after 2002.

"This investigation has relied on detailed reviews of accounts as well as evidence from informants.

"It is a reminder to everyone who wishes to test the rules that there is every likelihood the truth will emerge in time and that the consequences will be severe at that point."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW-x90N4ZBw

40mins later he was up and back on the pitch.

Some hard men in this game.

Tonight on The Footy Show, there was more than a suggestion that Marty Clarke will be making  a return to the AFL, and more than likely with Collingwood.  The club have been in touch with Marty who mooted the prospect of a comeback and they told him that if he wants to come back he'll be more than welcome.  The Pies have been in touch with the AFL to try to ensure they snag their man and to avoid the open selection as he was delisted.  The Pies cried about the expense of their initial recruitment process (ie. feck all) and more or less demanded that they should get him first.  It would be some laugh if Marty does come back and joins another team.

[would damage MI5]

MI5 have "dubious record" on torture


Michael Holden
(UK) Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended the work of MI5 after the Court of Appeal published a judgement strongly criticising the country's security services over the alleged torture of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.

A senior judge said the MI5 domestic spy agency had a "dubious record" about claims of abuse suffered by Binyam Mohamed at the hands of CIA agents.

His comments were revealed after the court agreed that both a draft and final version of his judgement in the case should be published "in the interests of open justice."

Earlier this month, the court agreed to disclose seven paragraphs relating to secret U.S. intelligence material about Mohamed's treatment.

That ruling came after the High Court decided in 2008 that the government had to detail all the evidence it held against Mohamed except these paragraphs.

However, part of the judgement of senior judge Lord David Neuberger, the Master of the Rolls, was removed after government lawyers saw a draft version and put pressure on the court, arguing that it had gone too far and would damage MI5.

But on Friday the court said both Neuberger's draft and final amended judgement should be made public.

Neuberger said MI5 officials had told MPs in 2005 that they respected human rights and "coercive interrogation techniques were alien" to them.
"Yet, in this case, that does not seem to have been true," the final text of his judgement said.

"As the evidence showed, some security services officials appear to have a dubious record relating to actual involvement, and frankness about any such involvement, with the mistreatment of Mr Mohamed when he was held at the behest of US officials."

SUPPRESSION

Neuberger also said while the good faith of Foreign Secretary David Miliband was not in doubt, it raised questions about legal statements he had made based on advice from MI5 personnel, the Press Association reported.

"Not only is there some reason for distrusting such a statement, given that it is based on security services' advice and information, because of previous, albeit general, assurances in 2005, but also the security services have an interest in the suppression of such information," he said.

Brown said Britain had the "finest intelligence services in the world."

"It is the nature of the work of the intelligence services that they cannot defend themselves against many of the allegations that have been made," he said in a statement.

"But I can -- and I have every confidence that their work does not undermine the principles and values that are the best guarantee of our future security. We do not torture, and we do not ask others to do so on our behalf."

Mohamed's case has already caused embarrassment and difficulties for the government.

The Ethiopian national and British resident was arrested in Pakistan in April 2002, transferred to Afghanistan in 2004 and later moved to Guantanamo Bay. He was never charged and returned to Britain in February last year.

Two weeks ago, the Court of Appeal rejected Miliband's request to judges to keep secret claims that Mohamed had been shackled, subjected to sleep deprivation and suffered "cruel and inhuman treatment" while in U.S. custody.

Miliband warned that releasing the classified information could damage national security and U.S. cooperation on intelligence matters, and U.S. officials described the disclosure as "not helpful."

Days after that ruling, the head of MI5 Jonathan Evans took the unusual step of writing in a newspaper to deny his agency colluded in torture.

(Editing by Steve Addison)


(All my emphasis by the way).  Well, there you have it...as if we Irish didn't know already!

[The cause of the collapse is still being investigated by local authorities]

Floor collapses in Weight Watchers clinic

The floor of a weight watchers clinic in Sweden collapsed beneath a group of people taking part in a weight loss programme.

According to a report in Swedish English-language newspaper, The Local, the dieters were queueing up to see how many pounds they had lost in the past week.

One person reportedly told another newspaper that "there was a huge thud, before the floor collapsed along the walls in one corner of the room."

A Weight Watchers consultant told The Smalandsposten newspaper: "We're going to have to find replacement premises."

The cause of the collapse is still being investigated by local authorities, and none of the people involved were injured.

Just this week the bigwigs at the AFL have taken a dig at the Australian soccer body (FFA) in its bid to get the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.  That got me thinking - would any future successful bid by Ireland (in whatever form, ie. alone - not in my lifetime, or as a joint effort) be greated by the GAA in the same light?  What d'ya reckon/

AFL letter raises World Cup concernsROGER VAUGHAN
December 8, 2009 - 7:44PM
AAP

The AFL are concerned a soccer World Cup in Australia could affect their competition for up to two years.

In a letter sent to Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive Ben Buckley, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou wrote of the league's "extreme disappointment" with the information it has received about the Cup bid.

But the FFA have hit back, saying they have met with the AFL more than a dozen times in the last 20 months.

An FFA spokesperson said it was "hard to understand" why the league is raising issues in the media.

On Monday, Demetriou said an entire AFL season could be lost if Australia hosted the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

Demetriou sent the letter to Buckley on November 24 and the 16 club presidents have also seen a copy.

In the letter, Demetriou says the AFL could have to shut down for at least 10 weeks.

He also speculates about Australia hosting soccer's Confederations Cup the year before the World Cup.

"Therefore the FFA cannot guarantee that the impact on the AFL, clubs and their supporters will not be over two years instead of one as originally advised by the FFA," Demetriou said.

The FFA have confirmed Australia would host the Confederations Cup as a warm-up for the World Cup.

"It has minimal impact on the other codes - but great benefit for Australia," the federation said.

They also confirmed the FFA had received the AFL letter, but questioned how the league was reacting to the World Cup bid.

"Considering we have met 14 times with the AFL in the past 20 months, it is hard to understand why they are raising these issues in the media rather than at a meeting," an FFA spokesperson said.

The AFL letter is scathing of the FFA at times and raises a series of questions about aspects of the bid.

"The AFL wishes to place on record its extreme disappointment with the lack of accurate and consistent information from the FFA on the implications of the World Cup on the AFL," Demetriou wrote.

"This lack of clear information and what appears to be indifference and frankly, reluctance to help the AFL ... is frustrating particularly given the AFL has a strong history of working with other codes and sports to accommodate major events."

The FFA have confirmed their options for World Cup venues also include Etihad Stadium, but strongly denied an AFL query about whether soccer would want to take over the league's offices for the World Cup.

"This has not even been considered," the spokesperson said.

So the Swiss voted in a referendum against building minarets because some extremists misled the people into thinking the warriors of Mohammed were just over the hill about to swarm the country.

Hmm, perhaps Switzerland's WW2 "activities" might still be playing on the Swiss psyche.  Or perhaps the real danger is the encroachment of zionism (note that is 'zionism' - not semitism, the latter is not the former, at all) into our living rooms on a daily basis.

This is conclusive proof that Stephenite and I are the hardest working on this board...

http://www.smh.com.au/business/clevel/a-long-work-hours-culture-20091125-jrbw.html

Next time you're glamming yourself up, thing of the poor bugger used in the process...

http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/world/6495095/men-accused-of-murder-selling-human-fat/

A row has erupted after a Labour Party candidate called the Queen a "parasite" and likened her to "vermin". Peter White used the Facebook networking site to express his feelings about the monarch to Tory MP Andrew Rosindell. Mr White is contesting the South Hornchurch council ward in Havering next year. The former election agent in Romford made his comments as he condemned plans to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Mr Rosindell last week presented a bill calling for a national holiday to coincide with the anniversary. South Hornchurch is in the constituency of Dagenham and Rainham, currently held by Labour's Jon Cruddas. Mr White wrote: "What is the point of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of someone who is born into a position of privilege, she is a parasite and milks this country for everything she can. "She has more front than Margate asking for extra money from the civil list. Maybe she should sell a couple of her properties. "Maybe if she wants Buckingham Palace to be maintained from public funds she should open it to the public. "Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a public holiday but lets [sic] have one that means something, rather than celebrating vermin." Romford MP Mr Rosindell said he was "disgusted" by Mr White's remarks. He told Sky News Online: "I think for someone holding a responsible position in the Labour Party to state publicly that the Queen is a parasite and vermin is most outrageous and disgusting. "He wrote the comments on my Facebook and immediately dozens of people started slating him. "He tried to justify himself but he quickly removed the post. I think he's gone to ground." Mr White today appeared to stand by his remarks. "Maybe you could say I went too far, but that's for other people to judge," he told the London Evening Standard. "I think that Republicanism is a valid viewpoint and there are plenty of people who agree with me." A London Labour Party spokesperson said: "Peter White has been summoned to a meeting with key members of the local party and officers from the London Regional Labour Party. "He will be required to explain his comments and they will consider his future." Row As Labour Candidate Calls Queen 'Vermin'

Britons among the "ugliest people", dating site says


Britons are among the ugliest people in the world, according to a dating website that says it only allows "beautiful people" to join. Skip related content
Fewer than one in eight British men and just three in 20 women who have applied to BeautifulPeople.com have been accepted, an emailed statement from the website showed.

Existing members of the "elite dating site" rate how attractive potential members are over a 48 hour period, after applicants upload a recent photo and personal profile.

Swedish men have proved the most successful, with 65 percent being accepted, while Norwegian women are considered the most beautiful with 76 percent accepted, the website said.

The way that BeautifulPeople.com accepts new members is simple. A potential member applies with a photo and a brief profile. Over 48 hours, existing members of the opposite sex vote whether or not to admit them, the site said.

Options are: "Yes definitely," "Hmm yes, O.K," "Hmm no, not really" and "No definitely not."

The site was founded in 2002 in Denmark and went live across the globe last month. Since then, the site has rejected nearly 1.8 million people from 190 countries, admitting just 360,000 new members.

"I would say Britain is stumbling because they don't spend as much time polishing up their appearance and they are letting themselves down on physical fitness," Beautiful People managing director Greg Hodge said. "Next to Brazilian and Scandinavian beauties, British people just aren't as toned or glamorous."

Only the male Russian and Polish applicants fared worse than British men, although Russian women had a 44 percent acceptance rate. Polish women did not appear in the table.

German applicants were slated for offering up unflattering photographs, which may have hindered their acceptance rates at 15 percent for men and 13 percent for women, the lowest rate in their category.

"German men and women aren't faring well, but they are submitting stern images, they need to soften up," Hodge said.

Germany goalkeeper Enke commits suicide
AFP - November 11, 2009, 9:34 am

AFP ©

HANOVER, Germany (AFP) - German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been killed after he threw himself under a train at a level crossing, police said on Tuesday.

"There has been fatality at a level crossing at Neustadt am Rubenberge," police spokeswoman Martina Stern told AFP.

"He threw himself under a train and died of his injuries. It was definitely suicide," she added.

Jorg Neblung, a close friend and advisor to the six-times capped goalkeeper, also confirmed it was suicide.

"I can confirm that it was suicide," he said.

"Robert took his own life shortly before six o'clock (1700GMT).

"A press conference in Hannover on Wednesday will reveal more details," he added.

The 32-year-old Germany and Hannover 96 goalkeeper - who leaves a widow and a daughter of eight months who they adopted in May three years after their two-year-old daughter died of a heart illness - had been suffering from an intestinal infection.

He pulled out of the Germany squad two days ahead of their 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Azerbaijan in early September.

However, recently he had professed himself delighted to have returned to training last month.

"It has been a long time, almost a quarter of the season. However, once I resumed training I felt really well," said Enke, who played his last match for the club in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Hamburg.

His death left those closest to him both personally and professionally in total shock.

"We're in shock. I don't know what to say," said national manager Oliver Bierhoff, who along with national coach Joachim Lowe informed his fellow international team-mates - who are preparing for a friendly with Chile this weekend, of the tragedy.

His club president Martin Kind was left stunned.

"It is a total catastrophe. I am finding it hard to understand," said Kind.

Later around 300 of the club's fans and several of his club-mates gathered outside the club's offices as a mark of respect with some laying down bouquets of flowers and lighting candles.

Enke was understudy to then first-team 'keeper Jens Lehmann during the 2008 European championships and had been in line to fill his boots before being taken ill in September and October.

During that time his rival Rene Adler increased his chances of taking over the role in the national team who have qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals.

Enke had also at one time been linked with a move to German giants Bayern Munich where the former German Under-21 international Michael Rensing had not impressed in his first season between the posts.

However, Uli Hoeness, Bayern's general manager, had made clear they were not interested in paying the 10million euros transfer fee.

Several people had advised Enke, who had previously had spells at Benfica, Barcelona and Tenerife, to leave Hannover for a more prestigious club and one that was playing in European club competition so he would improve his chances of becoming German number one.



On the Yahoo website,some gobshite with an England avatar left some pretty disdainful remarks about this. There are some sick fcuks in this world.

Folks, I decided to take a gander at the final European qualification tables for next year's world cup.  One thing strikes me is the incredible variance in the success of the teams and it got me thinking - is it not time we had a preliminary round(s) for Europe as is the case in Africa, Oceania, CONCACAF and Asia?

San Marino lost 10 games as did Andorra. Malta, , Moldova, Leichtenstein and Georgia, didn't win any but only managed a few draws.  Albania, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Faroe Isl, Montenegro and (surprisingly I suppose, based on recent past form) Iceland, only won one game.  Then Estonia, Kazakhstan and Macedonia managed two.

Among the nine groups, 16 teams managed just 13 wins, and 30 draws, yet managed to lose 113 games.

Viewing those scores, it is pretty apparent there is a diabolical gap in standards.  Perhaps if we eliminated the weakest teams early on, we could introduce the S.American system where groups of 10 (or whatever) battle it out.  I think it would be better craic and certainly if this years CONMEBOL AND CONCACAF  are to go by, it'll be very exciting right up to the end.  What d'yiz reckon?

Police looking for missing toddler find body

Police in New Zealand have found a body in a drain near where a toddler went missing a week ago. Two-year-old Aisling Symes, whose father Allan is originally from County Waterford in Ireland, disappeared from a suburb of Auckland on the evening of October 5.

Police announced that they had discovered the body of a young child. They stressed the body had not yet been identified but said officers were with Aisling's family.

The grim discovery was made in a drain in the suburb of Henderson following several hours of intense searching. The area has been cordoned off and is being treated as a crime scene.

New Zealand Police said in a statement: "Clearly the team investigating the disappearance of Aisling Symes is heavily involved in tonight's events and staff from the investigation are with the Symes family tonight.

"It's too early to know how long the child has been in the drain or how it got there. The child has not been identified nor can we confirm what gender it is at this stage."

Aisling went missing from her late grandparents' house in Henderson at about 5.30pm last Monday while her parents were clearing the property.

 

Massive earthquake in Indonesia today.  First reports suggest thousands killed. Follows tsunami which hit Samoa on Tuesday which killed hundreds.  Sad

Well, he thought he had gotten away with it but not so.  His arrest today was described as "outrageous" by media all over the world.  Well, if that's the case, can we have a similar outburst about religious people?  Or is it because he's.... no I better not say it.