London's real smoke

If we thought that London was a city were the sun couldn't come out because of a dark and permanent cloud of pollution...now that actually happened, as a huge blaze breaks out in east London, accordingly with the newspapers.

A huge plume of smoke rose over London today as firefighters battled to control a major blaze on the capital's 2012 Olympics site.
Fifteen fire engines and 75 firefighters were sent to tackle the fire, which appeared to have broken out at Waterden Road, an industrial area close to the Stratford channel tunnel railway station.

Stars and strikes

Hollywood stars had started a strike. The costs mount and sets stand empty in a dispute that has paralysed Hollywood.

Behind one knot of pickets at the massive Paramount lot on Melrose, beneath palms wreathed in Los Angeles mist, is the gate Gloria Swanson drove through in Sunset Boulevard. Swanson played a silent movie star stranded by the talkies. And, of course, she shoots the writer. Last week, the Writers Guild of America posted at least 60 picketers, many wearing red T-shirts with a "United We Stand" logo, outside Paramount on day one of the first walkout by Hollywood screenwriters since 1988. By Thursday, as hundreds of writers picketed 14 studios in Los Angeles, the Paramount protesters included the Reverend Jesse Jackson and a board member from the Screen Actors Guild. This time the revolution is digital and the writers are the ones who feel stranded.

Britain and America

The prime minister Gordon Brown reassured that US remains Britain's closest ally!
Gordon Brown will seek to reassure the United States tonight that the special relationship still lies at the heart of British foreign policy, following concerns that transatlantic ties have been weakened since his predecessor departed.
In a television interview yesterday, Brown said: "I want to send a message more generally about the foreign policy of our country. I think it's important to remember that Britain is part of a network of relationships around the world - we're part of the European Union, we're part of Nato, we're part of the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth heads of government meeting will be held in Uganda very soon - and the strength of our relationship with America is incredibly important to the future of the world. If we're going to rebuild the international institutions as I think we should be doing, to meet the challenges of the next stage, then we want to work with America to enable us to do so."

Reactors and Bombs

Accordingly with the article, North Korea began disabling its nuclear facilities yesterday, marking the biggest step it has ever taken to scale back its atomic programme. The communist North shut down its sole functioning nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in July, and promised to disable it by the year's end in exchange for energy aid and political concessions from other members of talks on its nuclear programme: the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.
A team of American experts has arrived at the Yongbyon reactor and begun the disabling work.

Shouldn't we protest against this nuclear reactor? instead of just protest against Paris Hilton going to jail or not?

To Linda SteinRock

Linda SteinRock who brought the Ramones to Britain and ignited the punk music era has died!

The career of Linda Stein as a rock manager was brief, and, in purely commercial terms, unsuccessful: she singularly failed to turn the Ramones, the punk band she co-managed between 1976 and 1980, into stars in their native United States. But shortly after the release of the band's debut album, Stein, who has been found dead in her Manhattan apartment, aged 62, made one decision that was to have vast repercussions in rock history: she convinced her co-manager, Danny Fields, that the Ramones should play in England. Their shows at London's Roundhouse and Dingwalls in July 1976 were to have a galvanising effect on the British punk scene, offering irrefutable proof to would-be musicians that energy and originality were more important than technical ability. In the audience were members of the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned.

Thanks to her we have the influence of these bands who made history and original music to the bands of today!

Deadlines

Accordingly with the newspaper article, the Pentagon today reported five US troops and a sailor killed in Iraq on Monday, making this year the deadliest since the 2003 invasion.
The five troops were killed in two incidents in Kirkuk province, and the sailor in Saluddin province, bringing the US death toll for this year to 854. The figure, with two months still to go, outstrips the previous worst, 849 in 2004, when the US took heavy casualties in an attack on Falluja.

The Pentagon attributes the high toll to an initial increase in combat operations, and higher visibility of US troops on the streets earlier this year as part of President George Bush's "surge" strategy, which saw an extra 30,000 troops sent to Iraq.
So how many more deaths do we want to see in order to take those sailors out of there?

Kings and Ministers

As Saudi king's, Abdullah, had visit Britain, many protests and boycotts were carried out. The shown of anger over arms trade and human rights was the main reason.

The Saudi monarch and his most senior ministers will be the guests of the Queen at Buckingham Palace during a visit that will include a ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade, two banquets and meetings with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Prince Charles.