If it wasn’t for the English you’d be Kraut,
if it wasn’t for the English you’d be Kraut,
if it wasn’t for the English,
wasn’t for the English,
wasn’t for the English you’d be Kraut.
(sung to “She’ll be coming round the mountain”)

What’s it like, what’s it like, what’s it like to lose a war? What’s it like to lose a war???
(sung to “Argies”)

Two World Wars and one World Cup, do daa, do daa, two World Wars and one World Cup, do da do daa day
(sung to “Camdown races”)

There were 10 German bombers in the air,
there were 10 German bombers in the air,
there were 10 German bombers,
10 German bombers,
there were 10 German bombers in the air… .
And the RAF from England shot em down!
And the RAF from England shot em down!
And the RAF from England,
the RAF from England,
the RAF from England shot ‘em down!
(sung to “She’ll be coming round the mountain”; repeat 10 down to 1)
Bonus link*

Next Tuesday, the result of the England-Sweden match could very well determine whether you hear some of those football chants in the stadium on TV, as a second-round matchup with Germany is a strong possibility. But first, a review of the games concluded yesterday….

(more…)

There’s H5N1 in PEI.

Grand jury in Washington decides not to indict U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney in altercation with Capitol police officer. Visit CNN for the latest.

Two U.S. soldiers are unaccounted for and a search is under way for them after an attack on a checkpoint in Iraq, the Pentagon says. Visit CNN for the latest.

Calm down Alasdair and Joe Mama, I’m not giving in to your delusional fantasy that hating the policies equals hating the President. No no, this time my hatred is of a more mundane and non-partisan nature.

The President messed up my morning commute! Bush arrived in Seattle this morning on Air Force one for a day of campaigning and fund raising for Representative Dave Reichert. Later tonight the President and Reichert will attend a $1,000 a plate fundraising dinner where people will have the opportunity to take a picture with the President…for $10,000.

What bugs me most about this isn’t that its Bush, but that this interuption in my day and the day of tens of thousands of my fellow Washingtonians is purely for fund raising purposes. And if you think I would feel any different if it were Clinton, you’d be very very wrong.

So instead of my normal 30 minute morning commute, I was sitting in traffic for an extra hour or so. Thanks alot George.

In entertainment news today, Sir. Paul McCartney, author of hit song “When I’m 64″, turns 64. So, umm, yeah, that’s it I suppose.

Thanks to a little bit of luck and a lot of advance preparation (are you listening, New Orleans?), the city of Flagstaff didn’t burn down this week. (Previous posts here and here.) Major kudos to the fire department for a job well done.

P.S. Here’s a video of the smoke plume. And a bunch of Flagstaff bloggers have more: Desert Imaging, Bear Droppings, DilettanteVille, Life Inchoate, Babble’s hole in the web, and MySpace members shortie_jb, wanderinglori, cb78momod, and netdoctor.

In case anyone is wondering why I haven’t posted anything about tropical storms for a couple of days, it’s not because I’m slacking; it’s because, notwithstanding all the talk about an exceptionally active rest of the month, there is simply nothing to talk about at the moment:

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
530 AM EDT FRI JUN 16 2006

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC…CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO…

TROPICAL STORM FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY.

FORECASTER KNABB/LANDSEA

I doubt we’ll be seeing too many Tropical Weather Outlooks like that as the season progresses.

The Union Leader, New Hampshire’s statewide newssource, has a link to a fantastic article on the first page. Can you figure out which one it is??

Okay, if not, here’s a hint: it links to this story.

UPDATE BY BRENDAN: In keeping with the tried-and-true rule of online journalism that people are more likely to click on a link if it has a picture of a hot babe associated with it…

:)

Okay, so today we have Michael Kinsley in the Washington Post with an op-ed titled The Name Is Kafka… Franz Kafka (I’m not sure why he spends the first three paragraphs making fun of the CIA web site, but the rest of the op-ed is pretty interesting.)

Key quote:

But your rights and mine are not supposed to be at the whim of the government, let alone the president. They are based in the Constitution and the willingness of those we put in power to obey it — even as interpreted by judges they may disagree with. The most distressing aspect of this story is the apparent attitude of our current rulers that the Constitution is an obstacle to be overcome — by conducting dirty business abroad or by wildly disingenuous interpretations of laws and the Constitution.

and

The fact that there are countries in this world where the government can torture people in secret and without fear of courts is supposed to be a tragedy — not a convenience.

Okay, I realize Google Ride Finder is more than a year old, but I hadn’t heard of it before… had you? It’s, like, totally awesome, dude. And stuff. You can view the current real-time locations (using GPS) of participating cab companies’ available taxis in 16 major cities. You also get a phone number of the companies and the total number of cabs they have available. For example, right now there are 66 Yellow Cabs, 53 SuperShuttles, and 22 AAA taxis available in the greater Phoenix area.

I love technology!

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is giving up his day-to-day role at the company. Visit CNN for the latest.

Today Bill Gates announced that over the next two years he will be transitioning his current duties and changing his role at Microsoft.

He will continue his role as chairman, but much of his day-to-day activity will be transferred to other leaders in the company including the new Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie and Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie.

Gates is expected to take on a greater role in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organization, that has seen large growth in recent years.

Since Andrew is slacking in his World Cup analysis duties, it falls to me to tell you that a last-gasp goal in the 91st minute lifted host country Germany to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Poland. Or, as Fark delicately put it: “Germans smash through Polish defense. Again.”

Also yesterday, our friends the Saudis played Tunisia to a 2-2 draw. And after a 4-0 blowout, it seems fair to say that the bane of Spain is plainly not Ukraine.

Already today, Ecuador has clinched a spot in the single-elimination “knockout rounds” by beating Costa Rica, 3-0. BrendanLoy.com World Cup Correspondent Nick Surmacz was at that game, so stay tuned for his report and photos!

Up next on today’s schedule: the Brits! (They’re playing Trinidad and Tobago.)

On Saturday, of course, the USA plays Italy in a must-win game for the American side. Nick will be at that one, too.

Governor Gregoire of Washington has announced that the salmon design will be on the state quarter. (Previous posts here, here and here. Hat tip: Fark.)