Monday 28 November 2005

'Trophy' video exposes private security contractors shooting up Iraqi drivers

The Telegraph yesterday reported that private security firms in Iraq (the Coalition of the Billing as they're known) are taking pot-shots at Iraqi civilians.

Friday 25 November 2005

Monday 21 November 2005

Keane wants Celtic

Keane says he prefers Celtic. Would you take him?

Sunday 20 November 2005

Celtic - 3 Rangers - 0

I lost £10 yesterday, having put a tenner on Rangers to win at 10/3. I didn't think that they would win (I predicted 1-1) but the odds were tempting. I was happy to lose the money.

I thought that we played pretty poorly - especially the first half. Against a better team, we would have been punished. But Rangers are dire. I actually felt sorry for Eck. The game confirmed two things: (1) Barry is a ned; and (2) Chick supports Rangers.

It was a vital game for both teams. We win, it's game over for Rangers; they win, it's game on. Fifteen points is a big gap - too big I think for Rangers to catch up. Hearts are still in there. The bookies appear to have made up their minds.

Here is a BitTorrent of the entire game in case you missed it.

Thursday 17 November 2005

Bittorrent

BitTorrent (BT) is a file-sharing program used to download software, movies and TV programs. BT is a peer-to-peer system because you download files from others users of the BitTorrent system rather than some central database. This makes downloading very fast since you can simultaneously download from several people at once. The BBC will use something similar for its own downloading service.

The problem with BitTorrent is that it's a little complicated compared to a centralised system. Using BT involves chosing a client program, downloading and installing the program, and then search for a "torrent" on the Internet. A torrent isn't the actual file that you're looking for - but it contains all the information that the client program needs to locate and download it.

I use the uTorrent client which is small and simple to use. There are lots of websites where you can search for torrents. I use FileSharingPlace.

I recently downloaded Noam Chomskey's Manufacturing Consent (thanks Billy)which was great.

Wednesday 16 November 2005

Sunday 13 November 2005

Thursday 10 November 2005

Top 50 independent films

Some interesting choices - including Dark Star and Dead Man's Shoes. I saw Sideways recently and enjoyed it a great deal.

Wednesday 9 November 2005

Celtic v Rangers

I thought that was a great performance tonight. I'd forgotten to buy my ticket so watched the game on the telly.

We were as far ahead of Rangers as any team we've played this season.

I've slagged Camara quite a bit this season but I thought he was great tonight. I also thought that Nakamura looked the good player I think he is. He strolled around, looked stronger, tackled, made nice passes and was cute. I think Maloney, McGeady, Beattie and Wallace are his type of player. I think we will see even better football in the coming months.

I also need to say that I'm really happy with Gordon Strachan. This is the best football we've played in a few years and I also think that his humility and humour during interviews makes him a good ambassador for the club.

Having watched John Hartson's interview at the weekend and Sean Maloney's tonight I think Strachan's outlook on life is spreading throughout the club. Too many palyers were getting too arrogant in the past couple of seasons.

Boruc - 8 (a couple of bad kickouts, but very confident)
Telfer - 7 (no real pressure)
Balde - 8 (Prso is a good player and didn't do anything tonight)
McManus - 8 (Prso is a good player and didn't do anything tonight)
Camara - 9 (Best game for us)
Nakamura - 9 (Cool - reminds me of Dalglish if only he could score more)
Petrov - 8 (good game)
Lennon - 7 (strolled throughout most of game but made a couple of boobs early on)
McGeady - 7 (looking confident again)
Maloney - 8 (also looking good - needs to thank Klaus for goal though at least he shot)
Hartson - 8 (good game)

Kyrgiakos should never have been sent off but even with eleven v eleven we were much better.

I thought we made Rangers look a poor team tonight. That is as bad as they've looked in a couple of months despite their results.

Sunday 6 November 2005

Smearing Chomsky?

Billy had previously commented on Noam Chomsky who was recently voted the World's Top Public Intellectual. Because of this, Chomskey was interviewed in the Guardian but the resulting article has been criticised.

Saturday 5 November 2005

More happy days

Another difficult day for Rangers. According to Celtic Quick News Klos wasn't playing as, similar to Ball, they couldn't afford to. I don't know if he was back today but it's their attack they should worry about. Hopefully we can extend the gap with a win over the eloquent John Hughes' team. A win then on Wednesday, which can never be a foregone conclusion (can Hartson play two games in quick succession?), should mean they only have the Scottish Cup left before the end of November. They could end fourth.

I suppose you have heard the recently reported conversation between Bestie and his consultant? George, there is good news and bad news. Tell me the bad. You only have one hour to live. Well what's the good news? It's happy hour!

That's nearly as bad as the overheard conversation between two Erskine women walking along the street. They see their husbands approaching and one is carrying a bunch of flowers. Oh well I suppose that means I'll be on my back with my legs open for the rest of the weekend says one. To which her friend replies oh come on don't tell me you don't have a vase.