" The Sunday Times said the secure rooms encased in 18-inch-thick steel walls would provide shelter for the royal family from bombings, gas attacks, assassination attempts -- and even a direct hit by a light aircraft.

The rooms, which the paper said were ordered after a security review after last year's Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, would be equipped with secure communications, and everything needed to survive for at least a week."

Oh goody! (Sarcasm.) At least Londoners will know she's safe when they're all dead.

713 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 10:16:45 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Yahoo! News - Panic Rooms to Protect British Royals -- and Dogs

"Only later did it become clear that the president already had made up his mind. In July 2002, the State Department's director of policy planning, Richard N. Haass, held a regular meeting with Rice and asked whether they should talk about the pros and cons of confronting Iraq.

Don't bother, Rice replied: The president has made a decision."

A good background of the history of the ouster for Iraq. But looking further back than 9/11 is pointless.

Good thing about warblogging, is that I can look back into July 2002, into what was being released (I called it then 'testing public reaction') into the news UK: we will use nukes first:

"Mr Hoon said then: "There has been no change in the essential rules we follow on the use of nuclear weapons. They would be used in only what are described as extreme conditions of self-defence ... proportionately and consistently with our obligations in international law."
Mr Hoon caused anger this year when he said Britain would be ready to use its long range nuclear weapons against Iraq."

Not a lot was said against it, possibly because most thought it would never happen.

712 Also posted to: warBlog . At: 9:08:48 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: Washington Post: U.S. Decision On Iraq Has Puzzling Past

"Xbox officials are promising a raft of new games in the coming year to rival the best titles currently on sale.

Microsoft is investing millions into fostering a network of gamers across the world, playing against each other on the Xbox.

Xbox Live was launched in the US on 15 November. It launches in Japan on 16 January and in Europe on 14 March.

Figures released this week by Microsoft showed that more than 250,000 starter kits have been sold in the US, selling out in many stores.

Officials say Xbox Live has boosted the sales of games which can be played online, like MechAssault, Unreal Championship and Ghost Recon."

711 Also posted to: Broadband Britain . At: 8:16:08 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: BBC: Microsoft talks up online gaming

""Thanks to broadband, hardware and content will integrate in a new way."

Mr Ando showed off Sony's Cocoon, a device about the size of a DVD player that hooked up the TV to the internet by broadband.

The machine runs on Linux and has a hard disc that can record 100 hours of video. It is already gone on sale in Japan.

"Cocoon will transform TV into an interactive, intelligent experience," said Mr Ando."

710 Also posted to: Broadband Britain . At: 8:05:26 PM  . .
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Other title(s) for this story: BBC: Sony offers vision of 'reborn TV'

I came home from work to see a mini nurse in the kitchen and a bigger fairy in the living room. Then, out from hiding appeared the pirate. Must get a photo of this, I thought. They're covered in chocolate spread, the most 'orrible food going - IMO. Esme has, in her hand, a piece of toast with this gunk on.

Francis is only 8 months older than Esme, but she's a giant. And getting chubby.

709 Also posted to: personal . At: 10:23:59 AM  . .
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Amy's Birthday. I didn't go, But Amanda said that Bradley took off to a quiet corner for a few minutes, she thought that he was going to fall asleep, and took this pix.

708 Also posted to: personal . At: 10:23:34 AM  . .
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"In current theory, after its creation in the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago, the expanding universe cooled down and became opaque. No light could beam through the omnipresent neutral hydrogen. Sometime during that dark age-- the timing is one of cosmology's big mysteries -- stars and galaxies began forming and their ultraviolet light eventually cleared away the neutral hydrogen and the opacity. It was the beginning of a universe of starry nights."