Headlines that make you smile (this one’s gonna get me in trouble…)

“US intelligence budget disclosed” proclaimed the headline in Firefox’s Live Bookmarks list from the BBC News website’s RSS feed.

“OK,” I thought, “just how much would the US spend on intelligence?  Buck-fifty?” (umm, that’d be about $1.43 in Canadian money right now)

Wait, now I get it.  They’re not talking about what they spend on making the US intelligent.

Finn-tastic!!!

Woo-Hoo!

Kimi’s the World Champion! Finally… (or should that be finn-ally?)

I’ve been a fan of “The Iceman” since before he was called that — when I attended the French Formula 1 Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in 2001, while living in France (a story for another time), the souvenirs I bought were the event’s official program and a Red Bull Sauber Petronas cap with Kimi’s signature. OK, so it’s not signed by him personally, just embroidered on the brim with his signature (and car number, with the Finnish flag and stylized Kimi logo on the back) — here, have a look:

 

 

It was a nailbiter of a finish (er, Finnish?), even after the race.  This has been one of the most controversial F1 seasons in a long time, and it stayed true to form right to the end — there was a post-race investigation into the temperature of the fuel (there’s a rule limiting the fuel temperature to be not less than 10°C below the ambient temperature) put into several of the cars (one of the Williams and both of the BMW Sauber cars) during pit-stops that could have changed the whole outcome of the driver’s championship had the race stewards decided the infraction warranted penalties that would have moved Lewis Hamilton up in the results and given him enough points to win the championship.

Cooler heads prevailed in the end and Kimi’s championship crown was confirmed after all! Yesss!

I’ve got two words for you…

Softwood lumber.

Ah, well… hope springs eternal, according to this article on the BBC News website about the WTO ruling that the US has illegally subsidized cotton farmers.

Best of luck, of course, to the Brazilian and West African cotton farmers who are among those harmed by the US subsidies.  Things will be looking up for you Real Soon Now.