This video from the USA is called John McCain: [Shiite] Iran training [Sunni] Al-Qaeda, Oh, I mean extremists.

From Sam Stein's blog in the USA:

McCain's Top Strategist Lobbied For Iran-Linked Firm

June 2, 2008

In the summer of 2005, John McCain's chief strategist Charlie Black, working for his firm Black, Kelly, Scruggs & Healey, was paid $60,000 to lobby the U.S. government on behalf of the Chinese oil conglomerate CNOOC. At the time, CNOOC was mounting an aggressive bid to buy Unocal, a California-based oil giant, and Black was tasked with churning up congressional support. But the bid ultimately fell through, in part because of objections over the China oil industry's ties to Iran, a country in which it had already invested tens of millions of dollars.

"This transaction poses a clear threat to the energy and national security of the United States," wrote Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican. ...

Flash-forward nearly three years and Black's old client -- which later scored a $16 billion deal with the Iranian government -- could now create major headaches for his current boss. On Monday, McCain, in a speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called for a broad and aggressive international campaign to divest from Iran.

Yesterday, suddenly the Blogsome site became inaccessible. A problem for many bloggers, including me with over 2,000 entries at "Dear Kitty. Some blog", there.

I do hope the problem will be solved very soon. I don't want the heartbreaking experience at ModBlog again, where the owners pulled the plug on thousands of bloggers without any notice.

At least, I have two backup blogs for my main blog at Blogsome. However, only this one here at blog.co.uk is working now. As my backup blog at Blogger was blocked, as over zealous anti spam blog software decided my blog was supposedly a spam blog. If I would not inform them within twenty days, they said, that it was not a spam blog, they would delete my Blogger blog.

Of course, I informed them, and I hope now they will make my Blogger blog accessible again. However, it being a backup blog; and my main blog at Blogsome having, until yesterday, few technical problems; I was lucky to go there yesterday, as I did not come there often.

Stay tuned, for the moment at this blog here.

UPDATE: fortunately, my BlogSome blog is back. The downtime was "only" 12 hours. I hope it won't happen again.

This video, in English and Spanish, is against the death penalty in the USA.

From Dutch NOS TV:

In the US state of Oklahoma, a terminal cancer patiënt has been killed by an injection. It is a 49 year old man, convicted eleven years ago for shooting his employer.

Opponents of the death penalty call this execution senseless as the man had only half a year left to live. His lawyer had asked the supreme court to stop the execution as it would be against the constitution which bans cruel and unusual punishment.

This video is called The Plight of the Chagos Islanders Part 1.

Part 2 is here.

From British daily News Line:

Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Chagos Islanders head for 10 Downing Street

Chagos Islanders are angry that the Blair government, in its dying hours has appealed to the House of Lords against the recent Court of Appeal decision that they are able to return to a part of the Chagos Islands Group.

They were forcibly expelled from the Chagos Islands by the Wilson government so that Diego Garcia could be handed over to the US governent for a massive US naval and air base.

The House of Commons never voted on their eviction.

The ethnic cleansing was carried out by a special order in council signed by Elizabeth II.

On Friday, at 3pm, a delegation of Chagos Islanders will be delivering a letter to 10 Downing Street demanding that the new Prime Minister Brown withdraw the appeal to the House of Lords and makes arrangements for the islanders to be able to return to their homes.

Many Diego Garcians now live in Crawley in Sussex.

Some of them will be travelling up to Downing Street on Friday at 3pm.

Chairman of the Chagos Islanders Community Association, Hengride Permal told News Line yesterday: ‘We are going to bring a petition letter to Mr Brown because we think the British government is playing with us, especially now after the court judgement that we have the right to go back to the Chagos Islands.

‘This is the third time they have said they are going to appeal it and now they are going to appeal to the House of Lords.

‘It’s time for the government of Mr Brown to meet us face to face about what is going to happen to us and negotiate because we are not going to sit around and wait until they decide. The Chagossian people need action now.

‘A lot of the Chagossians have signed the petition letter and it’s about time that we had justice. It was Blair’s last decision as prime minister to appeal against the court decision.

‘Three times the court has judged that what they did to us was illegal and three times they have appealed. It’s very disrespectful and very disgraceful.’

From The herptile blog:

Rare species of frog, snake in Orissa

Kendrapada (Orissa), June 26: Two highly endangered species, the crab-eating frog and the white belly mangrove snake, have been spotted in Orissa.

The rare species were seen at the river mouth of Dhamra, five kilometres from the Bhitarkanika national park in Kendrapada district, some 170 km from Bhubaneswar, Sushil Kumar Dutta, a herpetologist, told IANS.

Dutta, a zoology professor with the North Orissa University at Baripada, and his team found the frog and the snake during a recent study. ...

The crab-eating frog, scientifically known as ‘fejervarya cancrivora’, is native to Southeast Asia. It inhabits mangrove swamps and is the only known modern amphibian that can tolerate salt water.

The white belly mangrove snake is scientifically known as ‘fordonia leucobalia’. It stays in mangrove swamps and tropical tidal wetlands from Southeast Asia to the coasts of Northern Australia.

The snake hangs out in crab-made holes, after eating its occupants. It is an estuarine species and has all the adaptations necessary for survival in a fully marine life.

After the first part of the first round two weeks ago, today was the second part of the first round of the slam poetry tournament.

There were supposed to be six poets: two from The Netherlands, four from Belgium.

However, from Flanders, Tine M Ducatteeuw and Pauline Pisa were not there.

From The Netherlands, the first poet on stage was Seipie from Amsterdam.

His poems were on an elephant, a carp, and more.

Second was Leon Koek, added to the program later.

His poems included one on an inflatable doll.

Third was Sylvie Marie from Belgium, whose poems included one on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale.

Then, Jos Zuijderwijk, with a poem on gulls in Leiden, and more.

Finally, David Troch from Belgium.

After a pause, with rap music by Horizontaal, including a song on Guantanamo Bay, the same poets again, but in reverse order.

Jos Zuijderwijk had a poem on the Afghanistan war.

The jury decided David Troch would go on to the final round of the slam poetry tournament.

And the votes of the audience decided that Leon Koek would join him there.

Hi, welcome to Dear Kitty backup blog UK.

It is a backup blog in case something goes wrong with my main blog.

When I started here in 2005, that was at ModBlog: it was Dear Kitty Modblog.

UPDATE 25 October 2006: Unfortunately, ModBlog is gone.

Now my main blog is at Blogsome, here.

As the new Harry Potter book comes out these days: a picture of a snowy owl.