As many of you know there are many forest fires burning out of control right now in BC's interior. Many homes have been lost and thousands of hectares of forest are burned to a cinder. A friend of Pauly sent some pictures, most of which were taken from her own front yard in Kamloops. I thought I would share the best of them:



UPDATE: Donnie Mac just told me his brother and family were evacuated from Kelowna last night at 10pm. Donnie also sent me links to more fire photos and more here as well as fire specific info and info on Kelowna. These photos are terrifying.

Bomb at U.N.’s Iraq HQ kills 15. Is there any happy news today?

Also included in the latest email from Zimbabwe was the shocking story of Simon S. Rather than me summarize I thought it best to let you read the entire thing in his words. It's rather long but worth the read if you have the time. Here's what he wrote:


I am an MDC activist and a Zimbabwean Patriot who is committed to bringing about true democracy in our country.

In early November 2001, I had just returned by car from a trip to Masvingo to meet secretly with other activists in the area in preparation for the upcoming Presidential Elections.

At 0830 hours, Monday 12th November 2001, 3 plain - clothes gentlemen arrived at the office and asked if I could accompany them to Central Police Station to answer some questions. I asked them to produce their identity and noted that they came from the notorious Law and Order Section of the ZRP, whose specific responsibility it was to use muscle in all its forms to enforce both the archaic laws of the past and those more recently introduced, in the course of the subversion of Justice. I knew at this time that, what I had psychologically prepared for, and hoped would not come to pass, had happened. I managed to quickly pass word to my assistant to urgently inform the shadow Justice Minister for whom I work, of my predicament. I knew that I would soon be focusing on mustering all the strength and discipline that I would need to face what was in store for me. My time had finally arrived.

Carol's family have been to Zimbabwe and maintain contact with the family who hosted them on their safaris. They are not having a good time under the tyrannical reign of President Mugabe. They send news out via email once in a while just to let friends know whether they are okay (or not). A link they sent today was to ZWNEWS Especially interesting was this story about how Zimbabwe has empowered police to strip-search people for cash.

It's amazing that these kinds of government still exist. I though Mussolini and Hitler were dead.

West Va. police fear serial sniper
Thanks to everyone who sent this link.

Man 'pulled out a gun and just started blazing into the crowd,' witness says
We here in Vancouver call ourselves Hollywood North, but it looks like more than just the movie biz has leaked across the border. Along with film come the guns and that culture. We still have far fewer shootings per capita than our neighbour to the South, but violence is on the rise here in Canuckistan.

CBC News: Power disaster hits North America
It's apparently due to a failure of the Niagara Mohawk power grid. Strange, their site is still up.

Another link to more news from MSNBC here and news from the BBC here and Washington Post right here.

Jackson sent me a link to the Blackout History Project. I guess they have a new date to add.

UPDATE: 3:27 PM - check out www.foxnews.com. They can't update. They run out of NYC. LOL!

UPDATE: 9:47 PM - CBC in depth coverage. Right here.

It's been 58 years today since the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan by the US in an attempt to finish the Second World War. The vaporization of this city and 230,000 of its inhabitants then the bombing of Nagasaki and 74,000 more people 3 days later on August 9, 1945 was enough for the Japanese to throw in the towel. Yes it ended the war, but was it worth it? Who's to say? I don't believe that any violent loss of life, especially civilian, is necessary or acceptable. I'm glad I don't have to make those life and death decisions. That kind of thing is better left to sociopathic politicians willing to kill for the 'greater good'. I pray that this never happens again. But the barometer is rising in many parts of the world and signs are pointing to nuclear conflict, or at the very least a standoff, within the next 5 years.

During remeberance ceremonies today in Hiroshima, the mayor of that city lashed out at the Bush administration's policies on nuclear weapons. As someone who governed a state where the death penalty is so casually meted out and as a right-leaning President with a September 11th sized chip (and rightly so) on his shoulder, I'm not sure Mr Bush is listening. Honestly, that scares me.

This is an official announcement to express my deep hatred to the crappiest vending machine on the planet, that just happens to be ten feet away from me. I think it hates us too. It won't take our money, the guy who fills it up doesn't replace the contents with any consistent products, so if you like something one week, it's gone the next, and it shakes up my pop for me. My diet coke always (and I mean always) explodes.

That is all. Carry on.