Funmurphys: the Blog

International News

Ghazi Kenaan, Syria's Interior minister, is dead officially by suicide. He was questioned by the UN about the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minster Rafik Hariri. Apparently, Syria felt the Syrian interior covered more than the Lebanese did. Not everyone thinks it was suicide, me included.

Gerhard Schroeder will have no role in the "grand coalition" government in Germany. He took the opportunity to make some gratuitous insults, and spout some typical nonesense, like "I say to my British friend that people in Germany, in Europe, don't want complete denationalisation, they don't want the privatisation of lifetime risks. The Anglo-Saxon model will have no chance in Europe." and "I don't want to name any examples of catastrophes, where you can see what happens when there is no organised state. I could name countries, but the office I still hold forbids that - but everybody knows I mean America." Good riddance to bad rubbish. Don't let the doorknob hit you on the ass on the way out, Gerhard.

Is it just me, or does Angela Merkel look a lot like Harriet Miers?

China has launched its second manned spaceflight, sending two astronauts into Earth orbit. Xinhua, as the official news agency of China, focuses on the excitement of the people, along with Zang Ziyi's new sexy looks. Apparently China is engaged in more than a space race with the West (which doesn't seem to know that it's in one).

A former French ambassador to the UN is under arrest in France as part of Saddam's scheme to buyoff of the UN and others with Oil (known as the "Oil for food scandal"). This should not reflect on the UN or France. Who am I kidding, both are cesspools of corruption that are run for the benefit of their elites. Hmm, wasn't New Orleans a former French colony? Anyway, one can only hope this is the start of a number of prosecutions that lead to criminals spending a long time in jail and start on the draining of a couple of cesspools.

And some good news in a place where any good news is needed -- the weather has cleared over Kashmir and aid is "pouring in". Still, the devastation is simply overwhelming, and with an official death toll of about 25,000, I'm am deeply saddened. I spent three months in Pakistan (Karachi) a long time ago and really like the people there. You can see my pictures here.