Hi all,

The Brit and I have moved.  Don’t worry; our new home is just up the virtual street.  You can find us at:

http://britandgrit.com/

If you have a link to us or have us bookmarked, please be sure to change it, since we’d sure miss you!

the Grit

Hi Brit,

Not surprisingly, Global Warming is rearing its ugly head in today’s news.

First, and also not surprisingly, we find that Al Gore lied in his alarmist “documentary” by indicating that hurricanes are wore lately because of, you guessed it, Global Warming.  However, in this article, Expert disputes storms’ link to global warming, we find just what the title says:

Chris Landsea, science and operations director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said the notion that global warming is causing an increase in hurricanes gained widespread attention after the stormy seasons of 2004 and 2005.

But that perception is wrong and the statistics don’t bear it out, Landsea told about 200 students and professors in the auditorium at USC’s geography building.

It seems that even the IPCC bought into the Gore propaganda, as on page 5 of the IPCC WGI Fourth Assessment Report, they also blame Global Warming for an increase in intensity of tropical cyclones. 

Moving on we have, State distances itself from climatologist.  Here we find an expert “climate scientist,” who is experiencing political pressure because he does not hold with the consensus opinion on Climate Change.  The article mentions that this has also happened in other States than Delaware.  So much for “science.”

Which leaves us with the Business of Global Warming, China, India Smile as West Overpays for Climate: Andy Mukherjee.  You really should read this one as it’s choked full of information.  However, this bit bares repeating:

Sydney-based Easy Being Green says it will mitigate your cat’s flatulent contribution to global warming for A$8 ($6). The same company could also make your granny “carbon-neutral” at A$10 a year, according to a report in the Australian newspaper last weekend.

Then there’s Carbon Planet Pty, another company cited in the article. If you are hopping on a short-haul flight between Sydney and Canberra, and feeling bad about the damage you are doing to the ecosystem, you can buy credits worth A$23, for which the Adelaide-based company will guarantee to keep 1 ton of carbon dioxide out of the air for 100 years.

Well, I must go now as I have some scheming, ah, thinking to do.

the Grit

Hi Brit,

When I was in high school, my stepfather was a divorce lawyer, so I got to see just how wild some partings of the way can get.  It was bad enough that, after his car was shot up, three times, the stack of death threat letters filled an entire drawer in a file cabinet, and our kitten was stomped to death, tied to a brick, and hurled through our window, he decided to no longer handle domestic cases.

Which brings us to Britney and here troubles with her ex.  After an apparent confrontation with Federline, Britney, well just look at the picture:

 While this is obviously troubled behavior, it also reveals some good news.  First, while Britney is experiencing a few mental problems during these stressful times, she is still physically fit, as the size of the dents in that SUV prove.  It even looks like she managed to poke a hole in the metal, which is not easy to do with a blunt weapon like that umbrella.  Which, by the way, is the other good news.  She can still afford the best.  I didn’t even know there was an umbrella made that would hold up to such abuse, but I expect it costs a pretty penny.

Good luck Britney.

the Grit

Hi Grit

You may think that sex has always been a part of art, which to a certain extent is true. However, one of our youngest london public gallaries the Barbican, having reached the ripe old age of twenty five, has taken this to a new level by hosting an exhibition called Seduced: Art and sex from antiquity to now, entrance reserved strictly for those aged 18 and over.

The intention of this exhibition is to cover the art of seduction as it has been practiced over the past 2000 years. Kate Bush, apparently no relation to the singer or your President, says that it is a “no-holds barred exhibition” the intention of which is to examine and explore all aspects of seduction of any preference. With well over 250 exhibits including portraits from the walls of Pompeii; Indian sexual literature, little known paintings of sexual acts from renowned painters such as Turner, pornographic woodcuts from Japan and Andy Warhol’s short 1963 film entitled ”Blow job,” it is not difficult to see what they mean.

Although the museum stresses that this an attempt to cover a serious subject, from the final paragraphs of the article it becomes apparent that the real motive is anything but. Being a public gallary, the Barbican relies heavily on grants from the local authority, in this case the City of London. The director (curate) of the museum has admitted that these grants are being cut back, which will severely curtain their activities unless they can replace funding from elsewhere.

Thus, despite all the brave and intellectual words and phrases, at the end of the day this is not a “serious” exhibition, simply an example of an organisation utilising an age old promotional theory that “sex sells.” Why can’t they be honest about their motives?

the Brit

PS: To all our readers, please note that from 9am tomorrow (GMT) (24th February) we are moving to a new host. You can find us at  http://www.britandgrit.com/ and we hope that you will be able to join us there. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking you for your company and look forward to more of the same.

Hi Brit,

Two of the most dangerous things in the universe are asteroids and radiation.  At the moment, the UN has just saved us from one, and has been asked to save from the other in the not too distant future.  I present you with two items of news:

U.N. watchdog unveils new symbol for radiation risk

U.N. urged to take action on asteroid threat

It appears that on 04/13/2036, a hunk of space rock, named Apophis, has a 1 in 45,000 chance of making a big mess of our lovely planet.  Of course, I don’t care as the end of the world is in 2012.  Still, if that prediction happens to be wrong, the Big A is worth doing something about.  Even though it’s pretty good odds in favor of a miss, looking into ways of rigging the game for our side seems reasonable.  However, as the other story tells, it took the UN 5 years to do this:

This leads me to believe that, while the United Nations might be able to handle a severe case of hemorrhoids in 29 years, stopping an asteroid in that time frame may be a bit beyond their capabilities.

the Grit

Hi Brit,

Guess who is once more has her knickers in a knot?  Nanny Pelosi of course.  This time, she may even have good reason.  Our Vice President, Dick Cheney, made a speech in Tokyo where he said, “I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the Al Qaeda strategy.  The Al Qaeda strategy is to break the will of the American people … try to persuade us to throw in the towel and come home, and then they win because we quit.”   This is what has her all in a huff, even though it’s a true and fair assessment by the VP.  However, why I think she has reason to be miffed is that she was not able to reach the President to complain.  Sorry Bush, while one can hardly fault you for not wanting to talk to our vapid leader of the House, it’s part of your job; it’s why you get paid the not really so big bucks.  So, next time, suck it up and put her on the Speaker phone.

the Grit

Hey Grit

I know we have been following the antics of Britney over the last few months, but this latest report must be the most worrying for her family and friends as well as the girl herself. It seems that, after leaving the rehab clinic, and following on from a row with her ex over the custody of her two children, Britney tried to commit suicide by walking in front of traffic.

In my view, the time has come for someone to take a serious view of this situation. It is obvious from the laxity of the rehab centre that they are more interested in the dollar and promotion impact of having a “headline grabbing” star in their clinic than actually doing the young girl any good. At the same time everything she does appears on the media within minutes, which suggests that someone, somewhere, is feeding them with information. Thus it must appear to Britney that there is no way out of this circus and that she stands a good chance of losing the two people she loves most, her children.

Granted Britney has bought a lot of the media attention onto herself by her antics. But there comes a time when they have to sit back and consider the psychological impact of their constant hounding of her. Maybe the time has come for them to back off and leave the girl to sort out her relationship and other problems out in private. And maybe the time has come for her friends, family and other hangers-on to take a step back and concentrate on helping Britney to recover from whatever demons are haunting her.

We have already had one celebrity suicide in the last few weeks with Anna Nicole Smith. Let us not allow the press and our own insatiable curiosity lead to another one.

the Brit 

Hi Grit

Your mention of Islamic matters reminded me of what is going on in education over here. There is an organisation here called the “Muslim Council,” whose task it is to see to the needs of their people who have immigrated to this country or were born here. Of itself, I have no objection to such an organisation. However, I do get very irate when organisations of this nature try to destroy our heritage and culture.

The latest example of this is the report that this council has just put together a report, which apparently they are going to present to the government. This report outlines ways in which they feel that “un-islamic” activity and behaviour should be eliminated from school teaching and other activities. I personally find such action insulting, primarily because if the roles were reversed and we were living in their country, we would not be expected, or even allowed to deign to interfere with their religious and cultural traditions. Whatever happened to the concept of “respecting your hosts?” To me this is taking human rights and political correctness just a dozen steps too far. If people want to live in our country they could at least extend us the curtesy of treating our home with respect.

Of course what angers me even more is that, knowing our present government, there will be more than a few who will be prepared to listen to this outlandish idea. After all, they have already stopped the singing of Hymns in school assemblies, in case this offends our immigrant friends. Are we next going to see schools being built facing in the direction of Mecca?

the Brit

Hi Brit,

I told you things would get nasty as the race of 08 heated up.  Obama and Clinton have are in the process of firing the opening shot, Maureen Dowd Column Incites Hillary Attack On Obama — and Geffen.  The whole piece is worth a read, but here’s what I found interesting:

“Everybody in politics lies, but they [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it’s troubling,” Geffen said.

and

Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson just released the following statement: “While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign’s finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband.

And these are just ranging shots.  I get the impression that we haven’t seen anything yet.  Good times, good times.

the Grit

Our esteemed leader, the Right Honorable Tony Blair has been making promises to our soldiers in Iraq, and their families at home, which at the moment he hasn’t a clue whether he can deliver. But it does give him good press for the first time in a number of months. He has promised to cut our forces in Iraq by at least a third in the next few months, and possibly by half before the end of the year.

Nice words for the soldiers and relatives, but are they realistic promises? He provides a rider that says “if conditions permit,” but of course the media do not pick up on this so readily. In my opinion it is to early to even consider such promises. Irrespective of what Blair says, it is obvious that the situation in Iraq is far from settled and a withdrawal at this stage does not seem politically or militarily sound. The environment over there is still fragile and taking away the trained troop will leave a fledgling government lacking in strength and support needed to be able to fully carry out their democratic reforms. He claims that Basra is safer than Bagdad. Whether that is the case or not, does he not realise that once the insurgents hear about it, rather than taking on the might of the US forces in the capital, they could do just as much damage by attacking less well supported areas.

Whilst I appreciate that the proposed withdrawal is comforting for many, the worst case scenario is that we pull out, violence flares up again and we are forced to return. Or perhaps that is Tony Blair’s intention, namely to use this news to make himself popular again and leave the mess cleaning to Gordon Brown (did I say cleaning?). If this is the case, this reported withdrawal is not a pleasant publicity stunt.

Anyway, what has happened to this special relationship we have with the US? Are we now saying that it no longer important to maintain unity with the multi-national force?

the brit