2004

Der Standard, Vienna’s newspaper with a website that really could be better organised, reports that Yushchenko’s doctors have now confirmed that he was suffering from dioxin poisoning. The short article in German basically says that Drs. Michael Zimpfer and Nikolai Korpan informed the press today that they diagnosed a dioxin poisoning. Interestingly, though, the medical…

Read More Now confirmed.

Does anyone now remember Ivan Rybkin, the Russian politician who vanished during the presidential campaign back in February and who claimed to have been drugged by the secret services? He turned up in London having been missing for several days, and announced in a bizarre press conference hosted by zillionaire exile Boris Berezovsky that he…

Read More Reviewing, Recalling Rybkin: A Poison Post

Fistful of Euros is holding a Blog Awards competition. Categories are Best UK Blog, Best Political Blog, and the Satin Pyjamas Best European Blog. Don’t just stand there – nominate me, your first choice for unmarked jets, Black Sheep Bitter, war fever, sliding dollars and ranting. Or you’ll have me on your hands.

Read More Vote for ME.

The new US Secretary of Homeland Security, former New York cop on duty at ground zero on the day, and Saudi royal bodyguard, Bernard Kerik, has been encountering a certain amount of blogosphere criticism since his appointment. Amongst other things, he’s been accused of partisanship (he was the chap who said during the election campaign…

Read More Bernard Kerik, and the South Yorkshire Police

Washington Post story It is reported that a lawsuit has begun involving a CIA man who was allegedly run out of the services because he didn’t agree with the official version. Key: ” Those investigations, the lawsuit asserts, were “initiated for the sole purpose of discrediting him and retaliating against him for questioning the integrity…

Read More CIA Officer “forced to change WMD report”

Unless I’m very much mistaken, The Markets now consider Italian short-term government debt less risky than US Treasury Bills. Maturity Coupon Price Yield Change Italy 09/06 2.75 100.7700 2.30 -0.01 04/09 3.00 100.5400 2.89 -0.02 02/15 4.25 103.9400 3.81 -0.03 08/34 5.00 108.8080 4.51 -0.01 US 11/06 2.88 99.8750 2.94 +0.02 11/09 3.50 99.5859 3.59…

Read More Strange Times

Kevin Drum has this impressive piece of insight: “Boys these days are obsessed with videogames because boys throughout history have had a remarkable ability to obsess about things for uncounted hours: video games, computer programming, throwing balls around, practicing their swordfighting, whatever. The ability of young men to lose themselves to obsession is probably responsible…

Read More Wisdom from the blogosphere!