Chris Albritton is now back in Bagdhad. You can, of course, read all about his journey on his blog Back to Iraq. I must admit to becoming something of a fan of his. However well the media might report on the issues of Iraq, nothing beats the first-hand reports of somebody in Iraq. Chris has already given us fresh insights on:
- Ahmed Chalabi's arrest by coalition forces and Iraqi police - You remember him: it was his intelligence that got the United States into Iraq searching for weapons of mass destruction. It was also his brilliant idea to disband the Iraqi army. And he's mixed up deep in the UN Oil for Food scandal...
- The signs (and there are signs) of normalicy returning to Bagdhad.
Active Underwater Volcano Found in Antarctica
I am linking to this story from the CBC just because it's plain neat.
The Seventeen Year Itch
The seventeen-year cicadas have not arrived in Ontario, as they have elsewhere in North America.
I'm frankly feeling a little bit left out.
Made in Canada Solution to the Quebec Liberal Party
The official website of the Quebec wing of the Liberal party is now up and running -- a few weeks after the expected date, but better late than never, I suppose. Among other things, I finally, at long last, found a picture of what Martin's Quebec Lieutenant, Jean Lapierre, looks like.
Hmm...
I suppose it wouldn't be constructive of me to point out that Mr. Lapierre bears a startling resemblance to Made in Canada's Alan Roy?
Eek!
From Jordan Cooper:
"Off the westernmost coast of Japan, is an island called "Gunkanjima" that is hardly known even to the Japanese. Long ago, the island was nothing more than a small reef. Then in 1810, the chance discovery of coal drastically changed the fate of this reef. As reclamation began, people came to live here, and through coal mining the reef started to expand continuously. Before long, the reef had grown into an artificial island of one kilometer (three quarters of a mile) in perimeter, with a population of 5300. Eventually, the mines faced an end, and in 1974 the world's once most densely populated island become totally deserted. The island, after all its inhabitants departed leaving behind their belongings, became an empty shell of a city where all its people disappeared overnight, as if by some mysterious act of God.?
Weather News
Went to Hamilton with Dan and Erin and spent some time in Westdale. Nice place. Also toured some of the areas north and east of downtown Hamilton. I'll have some things to say about it later. Came home under cloudy skies and arrived just as a thunderstorm hit.
We've just had some major unsettled weather including the first ever tornado warning I've ever experienced. A major cell passed through that dropped a small twister in southeastern Perth county. It skipped us, but the warning was picked up for Guelph, southern Wellington county and the town of Erin. Unsettled weather is expected throughout most of this holiday weekend, which should wash out most fireworks displays but good.
A far cry from this time last year...