Operation Iraqi Freedom Documents were released to the public last week. Titles such as "A Report on a Cartoon Character Called "Pokemon" and "Propaganda By Iraq TV including dancing and singing with Iraq national songs, praising Saddam Hussein's achievements for Iraq and shouting dreadful words against the United States" should prove interesting for a dull Friday afternoon. more inside

Razza the fugitive rat sets distance record, for swimming that is. After 18 weeks of eluding various traps and poisoned baits, Razza finally met his match when he succumbed to the lure of fresh penguin meat. Good news, another solo male rat is now on the run; do you think he will re-write the record books by routing Razza's record? more inside

Chen Guangcheng was beat yesterday. Chen was also beat earlier this month. Chen, a 33 year old blind activist from the eastern province of Shandong China, has been placed on house arrest for bringing international attention to forced abortions.

Curious, George: Déjà Vu How often do you experience it? Does it bother you, or do you enjoy it? It never really bothered me until yesterday's David Copperfield post. more inside

Commercials of Harry Egipt! Treasures [?] from Estonia circa the 80's. Everything from the truly bizarre to social propaganda and in between... [.mpg or .wmv files, a couple of which contain nudity, non-English site] more inside

Combatting Caste ‘In the rainy season,’ the woman began, ‘it is really bad. Water mixes with the shit and when we carry it (on our heads) it drips from the baskets, on to our clothes, our bodies, our faces. When I return home I find it difficult to eat food sometimes. The smell never gets out of my clothes, my hair. But this is our fate. To feed my children I have no option but to do this work.’ via New Internationalist more inside

What's a little bull semen to boost bilateral ties? According to International Enterprise Singapore, 200 straws of it did wonders for ties between Singapore and the province of Shandong! *Imagines what owl semen might accomplish*

Falkland's minefields have become a mating haven for penguins. All the thousands of leftover mines from the early 80's Falkland Islands War are keeping would-be intruders from trampling on fertile mating ground. The penguins, not heavy enough to trigger the mines, are getting their squawk on.

I'm a vegetarian, but I do eat roadkill, so says Fergus Drennan, forager extraordinaire. His business, Wild Man, can be found at The Goods Shed in Canterbury. Now off you go, forage! "A man is standing at my front door holding a dead fox. It is stiff with rigor mortis and seems to be grinning at me."

Curious George: Prescription Mistake My wife, who is 22-weeks pregnant, was recently given a prescription for her frequent nasuea and vomiting. The problem is, the pharmacist made a "little" mistake. more inside

NASA has announced plans to send astronauts to the moon by the year 2020 [in a new "spaceship"].

A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe. A Guardian investigation. Also mentions the use of tissue from aborted foetuses as filler in collagen products.

The City is a weekly comic by John Backderf (aka "Derf") that appears in numerous "alternative/indie" papers across the U.S. [And it just happens to be my all-time favorite] more inside

Live feed of the United Nations World Summit. One of the largest gatherings of world leaders in history (so they say). The 60th session is now in order. POTUS is on right now. For your viewing pleasure... [Real Player] FULL DISCLOSURE: I work for the UN

Curious George: Donating Money for Katrina relief. There are so many organizations out there collecting. Would I be better off donating smaller amounts to several of them, or is there one organization that is worthy of everything I want to donate? Where would a donation best be served? Red Cross? Habitat for Humanity? So many to choose from...

Patricia Waller "describes modern perversions and demons" through her woolen crochet work. "Wool is often classified as inferior in terms of art and art history. It is not a material of which major works of art are made. We women artists who work with it, reflect our status in art, culture, and society, from this material and method that one can call genuinely feminine." [Second link is FLASH] We all need a few carrot-impaled rabbits now and then! Mid-way through the flash gallery, there is a monkey riding a ) canoe.

Hiroshima Peace Site In keeping with today's "Japanese" theme, I thought it was appropriate to post some Hiroshima-related links, seeing that yesterday was 60 years since the US dropped the bomb. more inside

Cheney Orders STRATCOM To Prepare Nuclear Attack Against Iran? Is CONPLAN 8022-02 the "trigger" of WWIII? more inside

Hawaiifruit.net is an intersting collection of images and data on the many fruits of Hawaii. more inside

Home/Life was a project that culminated in a website, book and an exhibition. 121 children (most of them homeless) in eleven cities around the world were given cameras to document the environment in which they live. more inside