Source: Inhabitat

“During my posting, at no time did HMG assess that Iraq’s WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK or its interests. On the contrary, it was the commonly-held view among the officials dealing with Iraq that any threat had been effectively contained.”

“This process of exaggeration (of the dossier) was gradual, and proceeded by accretion and editing from document to document, in a way that allowed those participating to convince themselves that they were not engaged in blatant dishonesty. But this process led to highly misleading statements about the UK assessment of the Iraqi threat that were, in their totality, lies.”

“The UN charter states that only the Security Council can authorise the use of force (except in cases of self-defence). Reviewing these points, it is clear that in terms of the resolutions presented by the UK itself, the subsequent invasion was not authorised by the Security Council and was thus illegal. The clearest evidence of this is the fact that the UK sought an authorising resolution and failed to get it.”

Source: Iraq Inquiry

Source: PSFK

Speaking of the target Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Federal Environment Agency said “It’s a very realistic target based on technology that already exists – it’s not a pie-in-the-sky prediction.” Whilst here in the UK we may have our suspicions due to the legacy of broken promises and missed targets from governments immemorial, the German government speaks from a position of some credibility. Germany is already the world leader in PV usage and the second largest producer of wind-power energy after the US.

Source: Guardian

Source: Guardian

Source: Ubergizmo

Source: Osocio

It turns out the the extent of the law has been worringly extended: in 2006 the government approved the 2010 FIFA World Cup Special Measures Act which makes it a criminal offence to partake in “unauthorised commercial activities inside an exclusion zone” and “enter[ing] into a designated area while in unauthorised possession of a commercial object.” In effect this means that the thousands of England fans bearing the Sun branded vuvuzuelas to World Cup matches could be tried as criminals.

Last week there was a lot of brouhaha about “ambush marketing” when 36 ladies brandishing unfortunate ITV ex-pundit Robbie Earle’s World Cup tickets attended a match wearing orange mini dresses in the colour (but not the branding) of the Bavaria beer company. Having apparently decided that they own the colour orange, Fifa have already hauled the women before a “FIFA World Cup Court” and the two women charged with organising the stunt apparently face up to 6 months of prison.

There are 56 “FIFA World Cup Courts” set up in South Africa for the World Cup,staffing 1,500 workers. They have apparently seen 25 cases between them at an estimated cost of £160,000 per conviction for the host nation. An absolutely shameful waste of money in a country where the majority of people couldn’t hope to afford the cheapest Wold Cup Match ticket. It seems that the poor in South Africa waiting for that old conservative standby the “trickle down” effect, will be waiting for a while.

Source: Guardian

When quizzed on the matter Ann Gottlieb, who helped create the scent, stated: “It’s a combination of this lickable vanilla heart married to this fresh green top note – it creates tension.” Quite.

Source: Guardian