Bertie Ahern’s foreign exchange shenanigans may well be the first major crisis for this government, but there’s little hope of him stepping down over it.
But as the storm clouds gather ahead of the Taoiseach’s next appearance before the Mahon Tribunal, Michael Nugent has come to the rescue with some welcome levity. I point you toward the Bert, Celia Larkin, Michael Wall and a briefcase of cash as Andy Warhol might have seen them.
Short and sweet because I’m on the verge of a migraine. I love how Mother Nature bitch slaps me on my day off.
Anime protestors meet real police. I can’t believe I went all weekend without seeing this… Fans used figurines to hold a protest against a distributor in Singapore. Police sent four anti-riot vans. (Reuters/Textfiend)
Inside politics — of youth and age (again!) A look at the fairly sprightly Fine Gael and aging Labour Party. (Harry McGee)
5,800-year-old mass graves from Tell Brak, Syria Evidence of a massacre at one of the oldest known cities. (Anthropology.net)
Antique ivory skull statuettes Creepy yet strangely beautiful. (Boing Boing)
Britney Spears at the VMAs… If you like train wrecks, check out the footage of a totally out of it Britney ‘performing’ her latest single. Thoughtfully contrasted with her “Slave 4 U” stint at a past show. (Rick O’Shea)
Spanish ‘granny’ dissects past and present on blog. María Amelia Lopez is 95 and kicks ass. A great story I wish I’d seen for today’s foreign pages of the Irish Examiner. (International Herald Tribune)
Disposable Words has uploaded the first pictures I (and quite possibly the world) has seen of Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar. The nation’s military government has never fully explained the 230km move from the old colonial capital of Yangon (Rangoon), although I seem to recall talk of it being more difficult for America to attack. The city, the name of which means “abode of kings” is still under construction. The photos have been up since June but I only stumbled across them now… better late than never.